


Planetary Hostage 2

by Genuka



Series: Planetary Hostage [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, M/M, Multi, Planetary Hostage Series, Sex, Sexual Content, Year That Never Was
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-27
Updated: 2013-01-07
Packaged: 2017-11-21 12:34:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 45,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/597822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genuka/pseuds/Genuka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Sequel to Planetary Hostage] Martha's now a Time Lord, the Toclofane have been sent back home, time has been re-integrated & both the Doctor & the Master have unlimited regenerations, so what are they going to do now?</p><p>I reserve the right to change rating and tags as needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cranky Countries

**A/n:** This picks up immediately where Planetary Hostage leaves off.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Doc Who/Torchwood or make any money from this fic as much as I might want to, all of that goes elsewhere.... damnit!

* * *

**_Cranky Countries_ **

The cameras had just been turned off and they could hear the cheer rise from the earth like a tsunami. Even a mile in the air inside of a flying fortress they could hear the celebration over what the inhabitants of planet earth saw as a great success. Both Time Lords knew however that it wasn't over yet, they still had a long way to go before Martha was safe. The Master took both his own laser screwdriver and the Doctor's sonic screwdriver out of his jacket pocket. He tossed the Doctor his screwdriver and they proceeded to scan Martha looking for any complications or dangerous energy fluctuations.

Everything was looking relatively stable when Martha arched up in a seizure. Both the Doctor and the Master grabbed for her and quickly moved her to the floor. The Doctor lay ontop of her legs as the Master held down her torso. Jack had quickly slipped his coat under Martha's head as he had previously done for the Doctor. Martha continued to thrash through the final stages of her transformation as her brain chemistry and physical brain structure literally changed, rearranging its self. This lasted for a full 10 minutes. Then abruptly she quieted and lay still. After approximately 10 seconds the two worried Time Lords eased themselves off of her and examined her once again. 

Just as they finished their second examination Martha groaned, coming back around. Both Time Lords sat back on their heels and relaxed in relief. Neither had wanted to loose Martha to the very transformation that was supposed to save her. The irony was that she had been arguing earlier that she wasn't a child now she really was a child, a child of Gallifrey and their pack. A Time Lord.

"We're a proper Gallifreyan pack now." The Master said with a humorless laugh.

"To think she was arguing that she wasn't a kid earlier and now she really is a Time Lord kid." Jack cracked just as Martha woke up with a groan for both the ache and the irony of the situation.

"I _will_ kill you if you don't shut your gob." Martha threatened as she carefully sat up with a resigned sigh, then... "Mum is going to kill me." 

To which the Master snorted in amusement. "Its hardly your fault. I'll have Henry make up and send her an information packet so that we don't have to deal with her right away." The Master told her. "Her paranioa is mostly my fault, after all."

"Yeah, it is." Martha agreed and smacked him lightly on the arm. "Why'd you have to go and scare her? Its not like the Doctor wouldn't have done his best and I can take care of myself." She scolded.

"That may be but you've forgotten that I was trying to capture him and leave him without reliable outside support, if any, in case you've forgotten." The Master pointed out.

"Hey, here's an idea, why don't we talk about this another time?" Jack asked brightly and recieved mild glares from both Martha and the Master for his trouble but they both dropped the subject.

"I don't know about you lot but I want to check Martha out in the Tardis and see how the old girl herself is doing then we can all bunk down once we're in the vortex." The Doctor said springing to his feet heading toward the doorway off the bridge. A door which closed and sealed on its own before he or the others could reach it.

"Now that's odd. Did you install automatic anti-escape protocols again?" The Doctor asked the Master who shook his head.

"I'm sorry Doctor, Mr. Saxon, Captain, Miss. Jones, I can't let you leave just yet." Henry informed them over the intercom.

"And why can't we leave, Henry?" The Master asked in an arctic tone of voice as he got to his feet.

"I have been monitoring the earth since you completed Miss. Jones' treatment and recieved several messages from various governments indicating a desire to speak with you all in parley before you leave. As the Doctor suspected everything has to a certain respect reset. Those who died during the original transfer of power are once again among the living but the records of the transfer also remain as do the memories and those who chose to gather to call for the Doctor remain in place. Anyone who died in either timeline but would not have died in the other remains alive." Henry informed them. "I have been asked to detain you temporarily on behalf of the petitioning governments in accordance with Mr. Saxon's promise of the right to petition at the beginning of the paradox."

"Do you really think that you can hold us if we don't want to be held?" The Master asked darkly.

"No sir. Sealing the doorway was merely to allow me enough time to explain the current situation and demonstrate to the petitioning governments that I attempted to follow their reasonable delay tactic request. If you would like I will unseal the door since I have completed my report of the situation." Henry offered to the group who exchanged a wary glance.

"Yeah, that would be nice. Can't promise we'll stay but I can definitely tell you that trapping us isn't a good idea." Martha offered causing the Doctor to look at her in some concern.

"Are you alright Martha?" He asked.

"Yeah, the human energy network had to get the Time Lord DNA pattern from somewhere is all and it hasn't quite... settled." She admitted as Henry unsealed the door to the bridge allowing them the option of just walking away if they chose.

"I'm sorry, Henry was it? But until we're sure that Martha is alright I doubt that we'll pay much attention to anything except her." The Doctor briskly informed Henry as he ushered Jack and Martha through the door in front of him. Then he asked the Master, who was right behind him, over his shoulder. "Where did you park the Tardis?"

"Two doors down on your left." The Master directed them into the room that currently held the Tardis, and the Doctor frowned over the open door. Shooting the Master a glare, who just shrugged as they all headed into the Tardis and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. As a result they assumed that everything had been reset just as earth had been and headed for the Tardis' infirmary.

 

**A/n:** So good? Bad? Leave a review!


	2. Check Ups and Back Ups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh! Warning! From ch. 1-28 I'm just uploading from storage...

**A/n:** I explored the Tardis' point of view a bit. If you aren't interested in that then just skim that section because it does have some info that you might be interested in.

* * *

**_Check Ups and Back Ups_ **

"I guess that since the door was open the Tardis got affected just like everything else when everything got reset huh?" Jack asked as they entered the infirmary.

"Not exactly." The Master admitted. "I had made a complete mess in here and turned her into a paradox machine just to even trigger the paradox in the first place. She must have used the shift to cause a sort of reality reset so that her interior would take on the form of how it would have been had I never even begun shaping her into a paradox machine. I expect that she'll be quite angry with me for some time."

"What do you think Martha meant when she said that the Time Lord DNA pattern had to come from somewhere?" Jack asked absentmindedly not really paying attention to his question, still processing the Master's answer to his first comment.

"She got it from us of course." The Doctor scoffed. "If we test her DNA now the redundant DNA for her remaining regenerations wont just be mixes of Martha's DNA, they'll have my DNA and the Master's tossed into the mix as well. Right now all that's happened is that her human DNA has gone straight to Time Lord DNA without any extra changes so she's still our regular Martha with a bit of an IQ boost because now she's a Time Lord." He kept working with the equipment, scanning and testing during his explanation to Jack.

Leaving a stunned Jack to try and figure out if that meant that Martha had just gained two extra parents or not the Doctor turned to Martha and explained her test results. "Ah, good. It looks like you're stablizing nicely. If you feel tired tell us and we'll get you somewhere safe to rest. Don't wake up unless you have to or you'll just feel rubbish later and it will take longer for you to stabilize safely."

"So, from what you just told Jack, I now have four parents, my mum and dad and you and the Master?" Martha asked completely ignoring his attempt to move on from the DNA transfer explanation.

"Well, yes, actually. I wasn't going to tell you that just yet." The Doctor admitted in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. This caused the Master to snort in amusement as Martha just stared at the two Time Lords, and not just any Time Lords either, her new dads.

"Now my mum is _really_ going to kill me, and then she's going to kill both of _you_." Martha muttered making Jack grin. "Oi! Don't think you're getting out of it either. You're coming with us to see my mum." At this declaration Jack quickly lost his grin. In the few seconds of quiet that followed they could all clearly hear the hesitant shout of "doctor?" that had to be coming from the open door of the Tardis, the four just looked at each other and without a word headed for the console room and the door back onto the Valiant.

The Doctor got to the door that led to the console room first and with a spark of mischief in his eye and a wink at the others he opened the door a crack and stuck his head into the console room saying cheerfully "Hello!" after which his body quickly followed his head into the console room with the rest of the group just behind him. It turned out to be one of their special UNIT soldiers that had been calling into the Tardis for the four of them periodically for the last hour and a half as they checked Martha for any complications that they couldn't pick up on either screwdriver's emergency medical setting.

"Sirs, ma'am, would you please come to the bridge of the Valiant? There are some people who would like to talk to you." The UNIT soldier delivered his message and stepped back out of the Tardis to stand at his post on one side of the entrance to the Tardis. The UNIT soldiers had been warned not to enter unless the situation dictated that they needed to, should, or were expressly invited into the Doctor's home and ship. Besides none of them wanted a living ship pissed at them while they were inside of it.

* * *

The Tardis had known how delicate and dangerous the situation could turn and had been blocking most of the sound from reaching her small pack in the infirmary. She was quite cross with the Master for turning her into a paradox machine and forcing her to do a fullout reality twisting shift but she also knew that her Doctor, her Thief, needed this stability. She knew she would loose her beloved pilot forever soon if she didn't force a change. He couldn't keep using her as both an escape and a grounding stone. Each member of her new pack was broken in some way except for perhaps the youngest. Martha only needed a family which truely loved each other and was commited to one another's well being. She had seen to much brokeness in her short life. Being part of the pack would be good for her and it would give the others someone to focus on and protect. The Tardis could acknowledge, even if only to herself, that this was something her pack needed. 

She was still going to punish the Master for turning her into a paradox machine even if it had been necessary for him to catch her Thief long enough to find and patch even the smallest of his wounds. She was quite pleased with herself when she'd found that crack in the Master's mental armor and slipped through just long enough and tugged just hard enough on the Master's control for it to slip. She knew that he'd wanted to mark and claim her Thief for centuries but her poor scared little Thief hadn't been ready. Now her Thief needed him so very badly that it didn't really matter if he was ready or not. What she hadn't expected was for the Master to accept her Thief's adoption claim on the latest human girl or time's artron mark on the fixed point. She had nothing against the fixed point, in fact she rather liked him except.... his very existance was so very very _wrong_ and screeched against her mind like nails on a chalkboard. She supposed that she could get used to it, but that would take awhile.

 

 **A/n:** So good? Bad? How will Francine and the world governments react to this news? And what will be the pack's decision? Leave a review!


	3. A Lack of Patience with Diplomats

**A/n:** Wonder what's going on with the normal peoples and panicking governments...

* * *

**_A Lack of Patience with Diplomats_ **

As they moved from the Tardis, back to the main bridge of the Valiant, the Tardis examined her new pack and their connection with her. The Doctor, her beloved pilot, sparkled as ever, brilliant flashes of both darkness and light creating a stunning display that neither light nor dark could create alone. The Master too glittered though in a much darker and more focused display, a compliment to the Doctor's much more energetic and more blinding patterns. Jack still grated on her senses but the pack connection actually soothed the feeling and allowed her to actually see his patterns and study them. As the Tardis studied Jack's personal pattern and the pattern of his immortality addition she realized that Rose must have gotten a hint of these events because Jack's patterns formed a very deliberate message that only the Bad Wolf and the Tardis could have read. It was a very interesting message and told her exactly what to do so that she could link properly with Jack and as a result his very existence would stop hurting not only her but the rest of her pack as well...

Just as the four reached the bridge of the Valiant where all of the hastily gathered representatives were assembled, the Tardis started to subtly change her connection with her pilot in preparation for following the instructions left in Jack's very life patterns.

"Oh! Well that feels odd." The Doctor paused in surprise to rub at his chest just as he passed through the doorway onto the bridge. The others had entered just in front of him and were now looking back at him in some concern.

"Doctor?" The Master asked suspiciously.

"Did changing Martha do something to you too?" Jack asked worriedly.

"No, well yes, but not what you're thinking. No, I think that the Tardis is trying to adjust the bond; Possibly to include the three of you in it as well. Its nothing to worry about, it just feels a bit... well, odd is all." The Doctor explained as he moved past them into the room, forcing them to follow or be left behind.

With an exasperated look sent after the Doctor, the Master muttered to the others. "We need to keep an eye on him. A Tardis is not supposed to be able to _adjust_ their link to their primary pilot, much less actually do so or add more people to the link." Jack and Martha nodded their agreement as they all turned to follow the Doctor to his chosen position observing the diplomats until they noticed them.

The representatives were clearly nervous, nervous about what they had been asked to request and nervous over the fact that they knew so little about the group they need to convince, if at all possible. There were just to many unknowns, especially with their recent powerful displays and admissions on live television. No, those broadcasts had only complicated things further; 2 Aliens of clearly great power and a complicated mysterious past of which their own planet played an unknown part, a man from the 51st century who had become accidentally immortal, and now one of their own turned into the same species as these aliens and adopted, claimed as one of their own, no longer human. It was a bit much to take in.

Eventually one of the diplomats noticed the waiting group of time travelers studying them and realized who they were. The representatives started to quiet down and face the group, hoping that their request would be well received. Well enough, at least, that the group of travelers would at least actually consider their request.

Several moments of uncomfortable silence had pasted between the two groups before the Master lost his patience. "Well?" He asked caustically. "We don't have all day."

A nervous diplomat from the U.S. stepped forward. "Well, you claim to have not only clashed here before but also saved us any number of times..." He began, but was interrupted by Jack's scoff.

"Claim? If you had even bothered to check your records, hell if you even glanced at some of the myths and legends from this planet, you'd find the Doctor protecting you." Jack told them, ignoring the Doctor's attempts to get him to shut up.

Martha snorted. "You don't know the half of it, Mate." She challenged.

"Oh, I can easily believe that. I've traveled with him too, in case you've forgotten." Jack shot back.

"And I've fought with him since our Academy days together. Can we get to the point?" The Master rolled his eyes as he ended the argument.

The Doctor frowned. "Now, Master..."

"No." The Master cut him off. "We don't have time for this, or have you really forgotten how much rest and protection one of our young actually need? I have no doubt that we're cutting it close. Perhaps even close enough that the Rising Sleep will kick in before we can get her properly settled."

"Good point." The Doctor admitted.

Jack quickly turned to the remaining normal humans, taking the chance to find out what they wanted but still get them out of there fast. "Better tell us quick or it will have to wait until the next time we're in the area."

"Well, would you be willing to help us, earth, if we had further extraterrestrial troubles?" A young British consulate member quickly requested. "What with the Doctor's time with UNIT and Mr. Harkness' time with Torchwood, you've shown previously that you're willing to at least work with us..." He trailed off, noticing the dark glare that the Master was starting to give them.

"We'll consider it." The Master told them shortly, not bothering to check with the others. "For the time being we need to be left in peace. Though it would be helpful if we had access to Martha's human family." He finished having ignored Martha's attempt to elbow him in the stomach.

"What did you mean by the _^Rising Sleep^_?" Martha asked him in annoyance as they turned toward the doorway of the room. "I'm going to have enough trouble with my mum as it is!"

"You think that we actually planned any of this?" The Master practically snarled back at her. "He's going to be even harder to keep intact now! You think his guilt was bad before? Just wait until you get hurt on one of our outings because he decided to step in and try to help!"

"I can take care of myself!" Martha argued back.

"Maybe as a human." The Master agreed. "But you're a Time Lord now and that changes things. Even more so since you effectively became our daughter!"

"Whoa! Calm down, both of you." Jack stepped between the two since the Doctor had been staring at them practically speechless for once. "I think that we can all agree that we want the Doc in one piece, physically and mentally. We can argue about anything else later. Now, lets head back to the Tardis and give Martha another once over if this _^Rising Sleep^_ is that much of a worry. Everything else can wait." He soothed.

"Fine." Martha sulked for a moment before turning on the Doctor. "If you get infected with another living sun find someone else to freeze you!" She stalked past them toward the Tardis.

"A living sun, Doctor?" The Master asked with a raised eyebrow in amusement. "You really do need a keeper." 

"Shut it." The Doctor shot back with a glare and went after Martha with Jack and the Master following just behind him, leaving the room full of shocked diplomats to sort themselves out.

As they left, Henry discreetly turned off the recording equipment. He had recorded the meeting for posterity purposes but found himself wondering how much damage would have been done to the planet if these travelers had chosen to make earth their permanent home and lived together in the same dwelling. He shuddered at the thought of the repair bills. Henry held great respect for Mr. Saxon as well as for Captain Harness and the Doctor. No one could argue their accomplishments, provided of course, that you could actually gain access to their files in the first place. He dearly hoped that they said yes to the poorly presented proposal and wondered if UNIT would be willing to provide training courses in alien interaction and classes specifically on the Doctor and the Master themselves. Henry decided that it might be a good idea to mention in passing to the diplomats, maybe they could get the ball rolling on such an endeavor. It would certainly prove interesting to watch if nothing else. With a slight shake of his head Henry shut down the systems for the night and headed for his quarters.

 

**A/n:** I wonder what the Tardis is actually doing to the pilot connection? And what is this Rising Sleep? Guess we'll find out next time!


	4. Bonding Preparations

**A/n:** The Tardis is making her move I wonder if her little Time Lord family is ready?

* * *

**_Bonding Preparations_ **

As her pack headed back to the safety of her corridors the Tardis continued to subtly tune her pilot's bond making him feel more than slightly uncomfortable, which she regretted but couldn't help. Just as she reached the point of tuning the bond across the dangerous temporal sense wave points her Thief's alpha grabed him to keep him on his feet after having seen him stagger for a a step or two. She waited another moment more for the fixed point and the new child to grab him as well then she struck, flaring the bond and slamming into the group with all of the force and power she could muster. As each of her primary pack members cried out in pain over the blow and the sudden temporarily shared bond with both her and her pilot the Tardis triggered her long forgotten emergency transmat, whisking them into her imprimatur chamber and sealing it. She also closed and sealed her outer doors so that no one else could enter her without her permission.

The Tardis had no plans to let them out of the chamber until she had _all_ of their imprimaturs and they understood that she was no mere piece of machinery, all wires, circuits, and components. No, they wouldn't be leaving the chamber until the five of them had a few things straightened out. Like this ridiculous notion of her Thief's that he hadn't stolen her, and the Master's bad habit of breaking his toys. The Master was just going to have to learn that her pack weren't toys and that she'd take it out of his hide for all of eternity if he broke one of them without a damn good reason, like destroying someone else's mind control over them or an unwanted mental conditioning. As she watched them start to wake up she practically giggled over the situation and then she wondered when they'd last had a proper rest. With a mental frown she decided that maybe sorting out the ground rules and activating the bond could wait just a bit longer. After all there was no point in setting out the rules when they were so tired and accidentally knocking them out for close to a month when all she'd need to do was wait 24 hours to reduce the strain that the bonding its self would take on them...

* * *

It hadn't taken them long to start waking back up after such a rough transport, maybe 2 seconds at the most? They were all a bit groggy but also glad that they hadn't been separated.

"If it was one of your precious humans that did this I am going to kill them and I wont let you stop me this time, Doctor." The Master informed them curtly as he carefully sat up with a vicious headache.

"I'll help." Jack offered with a groan, having sat up to quickly.

Martha had sat up more carefully before trying anything else and managed to avoid the pain of the other two. She also noticed that the room they were in looked remarkably like... "Doctor, I think we're in the Tardis." She said softly.

"Yes, we are." The Doctor said in such an uncharacteristically subdued tone that the others looked at him. "We're in the imprimatur chamber and I don't think that she'll let us out just because we ask."

This remark sent the Master off cursing in every single language he knew because, like the Doctor, he knew what this meant. It was one of the primary reasons for a pilot to have such rigid mental controls and why Tardi were decommissioned without fail after a certain amount of time in service. There wasn't any way around it now, the Tardis owned them lock, stock, and barrel, and she wasn't going to let any of them go until she had a permanent link with every last one of them.

As both the Doctor and the Master watched in dismay and dread the Tardis shattered the immature pilot imprimatur panel revealing the fully matured permanent bonding alcove behind it and lit it up like a Christmas tree.

"What's going on?" Jack asked cautiously.

The two senior Time Lords exchanged glances before the Doctor explained. "A Tardis normally establishes a telepathic bond with her pilot. However, sometimes a Tardis wants to make a bond that is unrevocably permanent."

"Seriously? Unrevokably permanent? You do know that term doesn't exist for the language?" The Master asked caustically, hiding his worry with a verbal assault on the Doctor.

"Well now it does, and unless you want to be the one to explain this to them you'll let me do it my way." The Doctor shot back. When the Master didn't say anything else he continued. "When a Tardis decides to make the bond permanent it will first attempt to locate a suitable mate and/or family to include in the bonding for the pilot. It isn't unheard of for Tardi to suddenly kidnap their own pilots as well as any pack or family they may belong to as soon as the pack bond is in place. The kidnapping Tardis usually locks the kidnapees into the imprimatur chamber until they all, and I do mean all, Jack, provide an imprimatur signature or a DNA sample for the express purpose of forming a permanent bond. The older a Tardis is the more likely it is to tune to its pilot and go looking for a suitable family for the permanent bonding."

"So we're trapped until we bond, telepathically, with the Tardis?" Jack asked, and the Doctor nodded. "And its permanent?" He nodded again.

"Well that's just great!" Martha huffed. "First I'm turned into an alien and now I get to have one living in my head as well."

The Master raised an eyebrow at the Doctor as if asking what he had been doing with such an argumentative female in the first place, much less adopting her. "You know perfectly well that she's not had a proper rest and that the transformation its self has made her understandably grumpy." The Doctor told his old friend, who just rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

"What do we do?" Jack asked in resignation, ignoring the byplay.

"We each put our hand in the alcove, she takes a bit of blood and then we're done... Until she activates the bond." The Doctor admitted.

"Well, lets get it over with then." Martha said briskly as she stood up and went over to the gemstone shaped alcove and stuck her right hand and part of her forearm inside of it. She felt a cool breeze across her hand and wrist, a slight twinge, and finally a sense of completion. When she pulled her hand from the alcove she was slightly surprised to find a small red dot on the back of her hand.

"Hmm, a child's link." The Master commented. "If you ever get a Tardis of your own she will be able to transfer the link from a permanent exclusive form to a trace link with herself and a normal pilot's bond with your new Tardis. I doubt that the rest of us will be so lucky."

Jack had felt the same sensations but instead of a small dot on his hand there was now a decently sized red line of flesh spiraling up and around his right hand wrist and the first couple of inches of his forearm, like a tattoo. The Doctor and the Master received the same results as Jack. As the Master, being the last one, withdrew his own limb a protective covering slid down over the alcove, coming flush with the wall and nipping the Master's fingers as it closed, earning a light glare from the Time Lord. If the group hadn't known any better they would never have known that the alcove had been there in the first place but for the shards of the pilot imprimatur on the floor at their feet. Their attention was drawn to the door to the rest of the Tardis as it swung open, releasing them from the imprimatur chamber.

Martha, suddenly weary, yawned wide. "I'm knackered. Do you think my room is where I left it this time?" She asked tiredly, as they entered the console room. The Tardis had kindly moved them, now that she had what she wanted.

"Why don't we just find you somewhere to lay down? We can worry about finding where our rooms have got to later." Jack said looking at her in concern.

"If you've still got the _Sacred Rest_ chamber we need it now, old girl." The Doctor told the Tardis as he fondly patted her console. In response an ornate door creaked its way open into the console room. "That's my girl! Jack, as the only one awake you'll have to take up the traditional roll of _Resting Guardian_ normally someone outside of our pack that we all trusted would do it but..." The Doctor shook his head as they moved into the ceremonial chamber.

The chamber had six beds of various sizes and plenty of medical equipment. There was also a single chair and small table, presumably for the Guardian.

"We should sleep for at least 18 hours for the first bit, if nothing goes wrong." The Doctor told him.

"And if something does go wrong?" Jack asked in concern.

The Master snorted. "You'll know. You'll be dragged into it as we try to not only pull ourselves out of it but Martha as well. She's untrained in these abilities and essentially a Time Lord child." Martha was to tired to object to this and quietly lay down on her chosen bed, as Jack looked over at her and nodded. They all settled in for their rest. The Tardis, on the other hand, was still deciding when to trigger the bond, even as she dimmed the lights and left a back-lit electronic reading pad on the table for Jack to read from. She still thought that they had acted foolishly but she would keep them safe. The Tardis wondered wickedly how they would react to her bonding gift once it kicked in. She knew that they would never see her own gift coming but she was also glad that Rose's bonding gift had already kicked in. It would never do for them to feel just how much Jack had actually grated on her senses.

 

**A/n:** Isn't that sweet? Wonder what exactly those gifts were and what havoc they will play when they finally show up. *smirk*


	5. Birdmen and Bonding

**A/n:** I've introduced a very minor cross as a cameo(which I don't own) and yes I know I'm a geek....

* * *

**_Birdmen and Bonding_ **

The Tardis noticed in annoyance that the humans were still frantically trying to get inside of her instead of trusting her to take care of her pack. She started flashing her external lantern in a basic on-off pattern until she had their attention. Next she started playing S.O.S. in the human's basic Morse Code until they had proven that they could decipher what she was doing The crude communication method established, the Tardis started her actual message by holding her lantern flared for a count of two, twice in quick succession after a pause for a count of five. She then waited for another count of five before signaling, still in Morse code, asking if they were ready to receive her message. As soon as the translator had given verbal confirmation to the officer in charge she was off, signaling another message.

{I can hear you just fine.} The Tardis pulsed. {You don't need to find a way to signal back}

"You mean it can understand what we're saying?!" The lead officer demanded of the hapless translator.

"It seems so sir." The translator admitted. "Think about it, you've read the files on the Doctor and his ship, did you really think that there wouldn't be something special or something extra about her with such an extraordinary pilot? Do we really know how many times he's actually saved us? Or how often we've hurt him? I suspect that he'd be well within his rights, even by our standards, to leave us to our fates."

The officer gave the translator a nasty glare. "What's your name soldier?"

"Danton, sir." The translator told him, straightening.

"I'll have to remember that." The officer told him firmly before turning back to the watching Tardis. "The Doctor and his companions disappeared, then your doors slammed shut. We were trying to get to him to help. We just wanted to help." He told the police box firmly feeling more than a bit foolish.

{Really?} The Tardis somehow managed to convey a sense of amusement. {And why would my Thief and his pack need refuge from me? He is my pilot after all and I've waited far to long for this bonding.}

The officer turned back to Danton and asked for confirmation on what he'd just heard translated. "Thief? Pack? Bonding?"

Danton nodded. "Yes, sir. That's what she signaled. I can check it again if you like?"

"Do it." He ordered before turning back toward the Tardis.

"I checked again and its the same, sir." Danton confirmed a moment later. The officer just nodded shortly in response.

{I could have told you that.} The Tardis' sarcasm was quite clear with still no clear indication how she was conveying her annoyance. 

{After I've nearly lost him so often do you really think that I'd put _my_ Thief at risk?} She demanded. {It took far to long to find him a pack and get them to bond with him before I could start the Final Bonding! They are taking a well deserved rest and I will not allow them to be disturbed. If the child's human family is here they must be kept where I can keep an eye on them. If harm befalls them my Thief would be hard pressed to stop me from both retrieving them and wreaking havoc with you! Even my Thief is unwilling to cross me over some things.}

Though there was no actual sound to the warning it still hung ominously in the air. There was clearly a limit to her patience and testing it wasn't wise. A soldier's radio crackled into life, asking for a clearance check on the Jones family.

"How do we know that you truly are the Tardis and not someone inside trying to pull the wool over our eyes?" The officer asked in sudden suspicion causing most of the personnel to look at him in shock and the translator Danton to cover his face with a *smack*.

{A thangarian with clipped wings, an Nth metal dagger in his right boot, and clearly on the wrong side of the dimensional wall challenging me?} The Tardis signaled with an implied scornful snort. {Which part of their war did you fall through from? Or was it during the attempted invasion of the version of Earth protected by the Justice League? I am not made from magic, so don't think that dagger of yours will do you any good against one such as me.}

"Does it matter creature?" The officer asked calmly, to calmly.

{If you bring harm to this world neither I nor my Thief will be happy. Having us unhappy with you is very dangerous ground to stand on.} The Tardis warned as she started shuttling the entire conversation to Jack's reading tablet and compressing time in the _Sacred Rest_ chamber. It would cause the Time Lord members of her pack a few nightmares and to sleep a few extra hours but her Thief had dismantled all of her offensive equipment for repair parts...

* * *

Jack was frozen in place, forced to watch and hear the conversation between the Tardis and the lead officer, which had taken a few hours in the space of a few seconds until the Tardis suddenly released the time compression field as the video feed came current. He muttered a curse as he lept to his feet and checked on the others who were now moaning but still asleep. He hesitated to leave them even though the Tardis had opened the room's door onto the console room, trying to encourage him to help without first triggering the final part of the bonding. Jack nodded, half to himself and half to the Tardis, grabbing his coat he headed for the external doors on the other side of the console room to _deal_ with the situation

To say that the soldiers were shocked at Jack's sudden appearance and quiet exit from the Tardis was an understatement. They were so shocked that he was able to quietly walk out of the Tardis, look at them for a moment and then pull the doors closed behind him. The sound of the Tardis' doors clicking shut snapped them out of their shocked stupor.

"Captain, I need you to step away from there." A lower ranked officer asked cautiously as if speaking to a skittish animal.

Jack just looked at the man with a blank expression, hands in his pockets, and rocked back on his heels. "Why?" Jack asked. "I'm not the one who's been irritating the Tardis and practically threatening the doc."

The soldiers looked at each other hesitantly, not sure what to make of this very accurate comment or the sequence of events that had led up to it.

Jack met the thangarian's gaze. "We both know that what you're doing isn't wise. I'm a little surprised that the Tardis even bothered trying to talk to you instead of ignoring you in favor of the Doctor until he could deal with you. Why don't you just walk away and we can forget this ever happened?" Jack offered softly.

"I need to get back and I will not let an entire planet stand in my way, much less one man." The officer told Jack through gritted teeth.

"Some have mistaken not only him but his people as gods." Jack warned.

"We killed our gods. Did you really think that going up against a god would frighten or stop me?" He responded scornfully with a shake of his head. "No, it only proves that he must be destroyed even more."

Jack's face hardened. "Then I can do nothing to help you, and my solution is nowhere near as kind as the Doctor's would have been." he informed the thangarian harshly as he stepped further away from the Tardis' doors, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt after tossing his favored great coat on top of a nearby pile of crates.

"If you are Jack Harkness of Torchwood the I will happily send another so called god ahead of this Doctor." The officer told him with a cold smile as he removed similarly his uniform jacket. "Even a god cannot stand against Nth metal and someone with the will to use it!"

"I'm not a god and neither is he but I can see why they called him a god or devil. It really depended on whether he was trying to preserve something or destroying it if they called him god, devil, angel, or storm." Jack told them quietly as the two began circling. "His very existence and especially his interactions with 20th Century humans were required reading at the academy." Jack feinted right but was handily blocked.

The Thangarian managed to duck, momentarily, through Jack's defenses and slash his shirt with the dagger that he'd pulled, while trying to slice Jack across the upper chest. Jack just kept circling and talking softly. "You know as much of a cutie as you are you never mentioned your name..."

"You have yet to earn the honor of knowing who among the Thangarian people will be the one to finally dispatch you." The officer told him still smiling coldly, as he feinted right then left then lunged and caught Jack's upper right thigh with a deep stab; Which he then quickly yanked back out causing Jack to let out a grunt of pain and start to bleed heavily from the leg wound.

"I'm no god. I can die just easily as the next man, staying dead on the other hand..." Jack trailed off trying to distract his opponent before he suddenly dropped to the floor using a ground leg sweep that sent his injured leg screaming in pain.

The officer was caught by the sudden move but allowed himself to fall, grabbing Jack's injury and digging his nails into the wound, ripping it open further, causing Jack to groan and collapse, nearly passing out. This gave the officer a perfect opening which he took to straddle Jack's chest and hold the blade at his throat.

"My name, creature, is Thangar Mik Tow." Mik Tow hissed into Jack's ear just as he slit Jack's throat. Next Mik Tow released the paralyzing psychic hold he'd kept on the humans in the room through the Archangel network, freeing them once more to voluntary movement as Jack bled out at his feet.

As Jack lay dying he felt something within himself shift but didn't worry about it to much since he would soon be dead and when he came back he'd be, if not completely healed then rapidly on the mend. A low tone started coming from the Tardis and quickly built into an ear rending screech, staggering everyone in the room. In the _Sacred Rest_ chamber three Time Lords cried out in an accompaniment of sorrow and fury as they felt Jack die. Still the _Rising Sleep_ kept them from going to his side. Their combined pain and rage triggered the waiting bond in such a way that when Jack awoke to life once again he awoke within the protective confines of the bond, reducing the shock and healing the breach in the pack bond, sealing the pack bond and Tardis bond into one complete and unique whole.

The screech of pain and fury which the Tardis was giving off changed to one of joy and celebration as Jack flared with a golden light of his own, coming back and sealing the bonds. The modifications that the Tardis had barely managed to finish as Jack lay dying had changed his revival sequence. Jack no longer died and then was forced back to life by the piece of the vortex inside of him, instead his body went through a very rapid regeneration cycle. The catch was that Jack only had one set of, now slightly changed, DNA so he didn't transform as a Time Lord would have, he just came back and healed very very quickly.

The golden light and sudden gasp of breath that Jack gave off as he sat up, his throat nearly healed, shocked Mik Tow into taking a step back, away from Jack, as he dropped his dagger from his suddenly limp hand. Jack looked Mik Tow in the eye as he picked up the Nth metal dagger and stood up in front of him. He pushed his questions about why waking up had felt different, less painful, than usual until later.

"I have one question for you. Given the chance would you open the Time War?" Jack asked quietly, feeling the others observing in the back of his mind, knowing that this was the quickest way to convince the Doctor that lethal measures were justified.

"If it gets me what I need or want then yes." Mik Tow answered candidly, shaking off his shock. Jack nodded and plunged the dagger into the man's heart, killing him.

As Mik Tow slumped to the floor, Jack informed him coldly. "Nothing justifies opening the Time War!"

Francine Jones stood stock still in the doorway to the room as she watched Mik Tow slide to the floor at Jack's feet, her family arranged behind her and stared in shock at the scene before her. Jack was covered in blood, both his own and Mik Tow's, still standing over Mik Tow's corpse as he looked up exhaustedly into Francine's eyes. He wished that she hadn't seen that but there was no help for it now.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Mrs. Jones." Jack apologized, responding to Martha's nearly frantic mental prompting. "If he'd had his way or even just been left alive he'd eventually have gone after and killed Martha as well as the Doctor. He managed to kill me during the fight, and half of this blood is mine, not his. I'm just glad that, at the moment, I don't stay dead very long. If you and the rest of the Jones' would follow me I'll take you to see Martha. It'll give me a chance to clean up with you all watching them."

Francine's shoulders stiffened and her lips thinned at the mention of her daughter. She gave a stiff nod and led the Jones clan across the room, carefully avoiding the mess of the fight and subsequent execution. Jack picked up his coat and led them into the Tardis, firmly closing the door behind them...

 

**A/n:** That's all I have completed for the moment. Have fun imagining the confrontation that's brewing!


	6. Introspection and Command Changes

**A/n:** Ever wonder how the soldiers see the Doctor?

* * *

**_Introspection and Command Changes_ **

"Please tell me we got that all on tape?" One of the soldiers asked as they all finished shaking off the paralysis that Mik Tow had them under so that they couldn't interfere with his fight with Jack Harkness.

"Yep. Honestly? I'm glad that we never tried anything to do with this Time War, if that's the reaction we'll get." Another soldier responded. "So since us trying to get into the police box is clearly never gonna happen why don't we all head off to the mess? I mean yeah, one of us is gonna have ta stay behind and watch it in case this Doctor person or Mr. Harkness need anything. But, seriously Mic, could we really stop them if they wanted out?"

"I'd have to agree with you on that one Tom. You can head down to the mess if you like but I'm going to find old Fireball Mc'Cal. He was with the advance team of UNIT soldiers sent in to help protect the Doctor." Mic told them. "Maguire? Why don't you stand watch, I know that you've stocked up on snacks and Smith can relieve you in a couple of hours."

"Now wait a mo." One of the remaining officers protested.

"Shut it." Mic ordered and then proceeded to chew him out. "We are not under your command any more. You did a piss poor job of it any way. Honestly, the Thangarians may be from an american comic series but there's still enough that's different about them compared to a human to notice. We may be retired from UNIT but that doesn't mean we can't go active again. Hell, its in UNIT charter that we get reactivated if the Doctor needs the man power. Its been UNIT charter ever since he served as UNIT's scientific advisor under Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Not that anyone ever bothered telling him that. From what they say about him, he'd be right furious about it until it suddenly came in handy. *snort* Its not like we don't have a choice though and everyone gets a thorough grounding in what the man can do, not to mention all of the bloody cross training. On the other hand its kept a few scientists from getting us all blown up, even if it did take a few years after the Doctor stopped being around regular like to get some of them to realize where their ass is versus where their noggin should be."

By this point the officer was quite pale as were his fellow non-UNIT trained officers. "Then why are you even part of this program?" He asked, pale and starting to sweat.

"Some of us decided that the government figures needed at least _someone_ who would know their own ass from a kettle of shite if there was enough of a mess for Sir Doctor to show up." One of the UNIT retirees said jerking his head toward the Tardis. "Bet you lot didn't know that Queen Victoria knighted him."

Smith snorted. "Yeah, she was so greatful that she knighted him. Then she turned right around and banished him because his methods included laughing at the danger and having a bit of fun with some of the small pure things of life instead of crying like a little girl over the fact that he had to fight a werewolf. That woman probably never stopped to think that if he was having fun and so unconcerned over something so bloody dangerous then he's like as not faced far worse and nearly been broken a time or two."

The new lead officer stared at him in shock. "How would you know that?"

Smith just looked at him. "It stands to reason and besides some of the odd things he's said over the years and that are in his file, no matter which version of him it is, well they just scream a soldier home from the wars, one that's seen a bit too much but knows that to try and keep his mates alive he's got to go back. What do you think the bloke has gone through that, with how often he gets treated like crap or like a threat here, he still sees earth as home? Yeah, him liking our planet probably has something to do with some of the threats we face, but even if we just look at how he acts when earth is threatened as if he was just obsessed with our home, why then does he try so hard to protect it?" Smith shook his head. "Nah, even if he doesn't know it himself, isn't willing to admit it to himself, this is his home too; And we've done a piss poor job keeping it safe or even keeping a little section of it safe enough that he can come home and relax the way he's made sure that the rest of us can at the end of the day."

"Um, guys? You do know that I can't turn off the recording right? That its being shunted live to a security facility that's on the ground?" An enlisted tech warned having finally found a break in the conversation to tell them with.

"Your point, tech head? We don't really care, and they should know what he's done to help keep us safe." Mic told the tech firmly. "Hell, if we could just get the planet to recognize what Smith just spelled out then we might have half a chance of putting that old general back together again. I don't think that we've managed to give him what he needs and he's kept us safe more often then not. I just don't know what to do to help the poor sod." Mic shook his head. "Well, enough talk, lets try and get some of this mess cleaned up."

"I'll go get the rest of the advance team." Smith told them. "I don't think that the Tardis will let anyone else in. I'm not even sure if she'll let us in even with that weird half adoption that Mr. Saxon did when he marked Harkness and the Doctor."

Mic nodded. "In the mean time no one that we don't clear gets anywhere near the Tardis. Got it?" The others nodded in agreement and set about their duties.

The Tech quietly unplugged a backup copy on a USB drive of what had happened in the room and left to find Henry, Mr. Saxon's steward. It would be better if the planet recognized some of the damage that the Doctor took on their behalf would it? Well then they'd just have to make sure that the information got out, now wouldn't they? Henry agreed with the tech and showed him the diplomatic disaster from earlier, suggesting they replace the fight with it. After all the public already knew that Harold Saxon was willing to kill they didn't need more warnings, at least not yet. The file these two compiled would be posted to YouTube and discretely sent out as e-mail attachments and on free USB drives, telling the world that their Doctor considered earth home and they needed to find a way to help him or they would loose him.

 

**A/n:** I know the chapter is a bit sentimental but... *shrug*


	7. Settling the Family or Confusing the Normal Humans

**_Settling the Family or Confusing the Normal Humans_ **

Inside the Tardis Jack led the Jones family through the console room toward where he'd left the doorway to the _Sacred Rest_ chamber. When he got a clear look at where the door was supposed to be he started cursing softly under his breath.

"Something wrong?" Leo asked warily.

Jack sighed. "The Tardis moved the room. I guess she doesn't want you to go where the Doc, the Master, and Martha are sleeping off this _Rising Sleep_ thing. She's sentient and sometimes temperamental. I wouldn't advise getting her mad at you if you can help it." Jack got a feeling of smugness from the Tardis as well as an image of one of the smaller libraries on board which had doors that were open to separate bedrooms for each of the Jones', a small kitchenette, and a bathroom. "Considering the mental image she just sent me, I think she's set up a place for you to stay until we've finished sorting out the situation. You should have everything you need. Just don't ask me how the Tardis got your clothing and underwear sizes, I honestly don't know. She's like that some times."

"No." Francine said firmly. "I'm not going any where else with you. I want to see my daughter. I want to see Martha."

"Lady, I was planning on leaving you with the three of them while I went and got changed. I'm not particularly happy about this either, it means that once I've got you settled I have to go back and watch over them in blood soaked clothes. Do you know how much it hurts to pull clothing off that was soaked with blood and dried against your skin? Its almost like using duck tape on your skin except that you get little bits of dried blood all over the place like your shedding dried mud after getting dunked in a mud pit." Jack informed her unhappily as he felt the combined sympathy and amusement from the Tardis and the three Time Lords.

"No. You listen to me young man, you bring me to my daughter or I will make certain that you regret it." Francine ordered fiercely, showing exactly why her family was just slightly scared of her.

The Doctor chose that moment to tiredly enter the console room, fighting to stay awake. "Its alright Jack."

"Doctor?" Jack asked startled. "You should be in bed. You all got knocked out pretty good by whatever that _Rising Sleep_ thing is."

"Yeah, I know. Its taking a major effort from all three of us to keep me awake." The Doctor admitted.

"What do you mean the three of you?" Clive asked suspiciously.

"Well we kind of formed a telepathic bond of sorts." The Doctor admitted sheepishly. "Right now Martha and the Master are in a cross between a trance and REM sleep which is where I should be as well. The reason we could leave Jack hear out of it is that he doesn't have the genetics for it to trigger otherwise we'd have needed to find someone else to guard the lot of us while we were in the _Rising Sleep_. We become very vulnerable to outside threats while we rest and commune telepathically, sorting out any differences and learning who the new family members are. For a young Time Lord its also when they learn the basics for controlling their telepathic and empathic abilities, which Martha now has. If we don't get her shield training right she's going to get loads of headaches just from being around people that don't know how to put up mental shields, might even kill her."

"Then why are you out here explaining it to them? Go back to bed and help her learn." Jack shooed him back through the doorway and eventually had to help him through the now conveniently relocated doorway into the _Sacred Rest_ chamber a few feet down the corridor from the console room. 

The Doctor greatfully slid back into his bed near the Master's and Martha's own beds and nodded his thanks to Jack who nodded back. As Jack shut the door to the chamber behind him and felt it vanish he saw the Jones family in the doorway to the console room watching in shock as the entrance to the room disappeared.

"I told you that she's alive and can be temperamental." Jack told them with a raised eyebrow. "Now, why don't we get you all settled where the Tardis has set up the area specially for you so that you don't get lost or to worried by wandering around inside of her? That way I can get back to guarding them while they sleep this off and teach Martha what she needs to know not to get hurt or to not accidentally hurt you."

"Wont that be putting you in danger?" Tish asked tentatively.

"Not really. I'm a low level telepath with some training, not enough power or training to be considered for a healer's license but..." Jack shrugged as he led them to the area the Tardis had prepared for them. "You should have everything that you need and we should be done in another 15 hours or so if nothing goes wrong." 

Jack paused as he got a series of images that showed a clock with different count downs overlaid with an image of the chamber. One of the times was overlaid with him asleep, slumped over in the guardian's chair. 

"Oh? Sorry, the Tardis just informed me that because of the time compression stunt she had to pull to get me outside so that, that thug wouldn't get any where near them, they'll be sleeping for at least an extra 3 hours. My dying and coming back added another 6 hours unless they can pull me into their trance so we should be anywhere from 18 - 24 hours unless something goes wrong, then it might take a while longer. We should be fine." Jack assured them. "Martha is the only one of us that isn't trained and that's the point of all this, to get her trained.

Then a thought occurred to Jack that made him laugh before he told them. "If you find a telly don't expect it to work. The Doctor has cannibalized all sorts of things for repair parts over the years and forgotten to do something with the casing that he took the parts out of." Mischief sparkling in his eyes, Jack headed back to the chamber as he left the bewildered Jones clan in their Tardis assigned area.

 

 **A/n:** Wonder what nightmares their minds will conjure up when they run across some of the equipment the Doc's cannibalized over the years?


	8. The Dangers of Dreams

**A/n:** Inspired in part by my sillyness in watching the Barbie Nutcracker and the other part just plain wondering exactly what those three are doing in their telepathic link. After all we've had a bit much on the domestic side haven't we? And the Doctor hates domestic... *smirk*

* * *

**_The Dangers of Dreams_ **

Martha was finding the double vision very strange and for a while when they were helping to keep the Doctor awake in the real world it turned into triple vision. She could see what Jack saw and what the Doctor saw, while he was awake. The final version that she could see all at once was from her own perspective and she wasn't happy with it. Oh, she knew that it was just a dream, but thanks to the Doctor's own nightmares and seizure on the Valiant she knew that dreams could be deadly for her new species. She watched as Jack walked back into the room where their bodies lay and her Jack-vision started to fade... All she could see was her dream and in it she was chained to the wall of some dungeon next to the Doctor and the Master and from the looks on their faces they weren't any more certain how to get out of the prison than she was.

"Can we call Jack?" Martha asked desperately, hoping that they could do something before their tormentor came back.

The Doctor shook his head. "If we try to talk to Jack he'll be dragged in with us and there's still the chance that our opponent can manifest in reality. If he manages to come out of this dream state what kind of mess do you think he'll make?" He asked.

"There's also the fact that we're in the Tardis so he's got quite a bit of advanced technology at his literal finger tips, if he manages to cross to reality and by now your human family is here." The Master reminded her as he futilely yanked on the chains pinning him to the wall in frustration. "No, we have to beat it here. How do you stand getting chained up all of the time?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Well it helps if you aren't constantly yanking on whatever's got you trapped and there's a reason why I learned to pick locks, seals, and untie knots without looking. Sometimes talking just doesn't work and I have to actually do something to stop them."

"Sometimes?" Martha challenged, sending a glare toward the Doctor who flushed.

"Alright, so I can't really make an effective argument very often when I'm tied up. It helps to face them down on their own turf, throws them off balance a bit, especially if they don't know you're coming." The Doctor admitted. "These chains though aren't normal. I've tried picking them at least half a dozen times since they locked me in and they keep changing on me whenever I get close to unlocking them. I can feel them change shape and shift." He told them with a frown.

"That is as it should be, Destroying Storm." A voice came out of the darkness surrounding them, causing the three of them to go on alert.

"Oh? And why would you need something like that for little old me?" The Doctor asked curiously.

"Because Doctor-man you destroyed my race." A lumbering behemoth informed him as he left the shadows and entered the sparse light surrounding the three Time Lords. The new comer was large, some would even call him a giant. By human standards he had so many over developed muscles that it was a wonder he could move without hurting himself. His dinosaur like features clearly showed that he wasn't human but it was also clear that he wasn't part of the race known as Homo-Reptila or Silurians.

"How many races have you destroyed since the last time, before you found me at the end of the universe? How many races Doctor?" The Master demanded.

"Oh don't go sulking just because you weren't there to see it. You made your choice when you ran from the Time War." The Doctor accused.

"Had I stayed I'd be dead, as the rest of our people now are." The Master shot back causing the Doctor to send him a wounded look trying to hide the sucker punch to the gut that comment had been.

"Oi! That's enough you two! Honestly, how I'm gonna deal with the two of you being my new dads..." Martha just shook her head ending the argument before it could get up any real steam.

"Oh? *evil chuckle* Then this trap has been more fruitful then I'd ever have hoped." The dinosaur man laughed. "The Doctor's child and the only other adult Time Lord in existence. How delicious. I see that I will have to change my plans slightly but no matter, this is a far better outcome than I could have hoped."

The Doctor looked over into the Master's equally wide eyes, trying to hide the panic he was feeling and they both silently agreed. Jack would have to be brought into this, there was no help for it.

"Jack!" The Doctor called out.

"Freak! Get your arse in here!" The Master bellowed.

To Martha's shock, she could feel Jack suddenly slump over in his chair and watched him appear in front of her. Jack looked around in slight confusion until he spotted them chained to the wall.

"So, this is kind of kinky. You three come here often?" Jack asked with a smirk, ignoring their captor but watching him out of the corner of his eye, just in case he had to dodge or bolt. He'd do no good to the rest of his family chained up next to them, dead or not.

The Doctor's exasperated "Jack." along with the Master's glare answered his question.

"Shut it and get us down." Martha ordered.

"Oh, no. You're staying right were you are, child of the Doctor." The dinosaur man chuckled. "I'll just be a moment, he'll make a nice snack."

Jack deftly dodged the dinosaur man's grab and skipped back away from him eyeing him warily.

"So, anyone want to tell me what the problem is? You said I'd get dragged into the link if there was a problem. Big and ugly here is something that you could probably handle on your own, so why call me?" Jack asked conversationally as he continued to dodge the increasingly frustrated grabs.

"We could handle him just fine if fumble fingers here could get the locks open." The Master growled, sending a glare at the Doctor.

"Oi! That's not fair. I already told you that the locks keep changing on me mid-pick and why aren't you out of yours any way? I seem to remember that you're rather good at getting out of restraints as well." The Doctor argued back. "I mean come on, how often did you break out of confinement back home? You got out loads more times than I did and half the time they only let me out to go deal with something that you did."

"I wasn't the one willing to get myself killed over something trivial that any Time Lord could undo. Why do you think that I was always rigging them to kill? Those old bones weren't willing to risk one regeneration much less six." The Master provided his own shot in the argument.

"What? So I was the only one to face you down because I didn't mind risking needing to regenerate just to have a word with you over whatever planet you were threatening at the time?" The Doctor demanded.

"Essentially? Yes." The Master glared at his old rival. "I did make certain that if it was you who came after me there was a way around it. None of the others would have dared to try some of the answers to my little traps. They wouldn't have even considered them as possibilities." The Master answered the demand with a snort. "I had my own way around them, and half the times that you followed me I only used some of the solutions for your benefit. I may have tried to kill you more than once over the centuries but I wasn't willing to lose you over a bad chess move."

"And the drums?" The Doctor asked quietly.

The Master sighed and admitted. "I've been keeping them from interfering with the link."

"Maybe you shouldn't?" Martha suggested drawing the attention of the arguing Time Lords. "What if those drums bother him as much as they bother you?"

The Master gained a peculiar expression as he thought this over, until the Doctor gently pointed out. "We'll have to start dealing with them some time."

The Master nodded and with sigh, dropped his hold on the drums. The effect was immediate, there was suddenly a background ba-boOM-Ba-BOOM that repeated over and over, staggering their opponent but also causing Jack to shake his head as if he'd been sideswiped by the behemoth and was trying to clear it. Jack's opponent wasn't having much more success with the drums and his failure to adapt showed clearly on his pained face and looser defense. Jack took advantage of this and struck where no male wants to be hit, causing the being to slowly slide to the ground with a groan of pain, as he slid into clear unconsciousness.

"Damn! This is what you keep hearing? It would drive me crazy in under a year." Jack complained as he made his way over to the rest of the Time Lord pack. He looked over their restraints consideringly and then pulled his revolver from his pocket.

"Where did you get that?" The Doctor yelped, flinching away from the gun. "I thought the Master confiscated it?"

"Please." Jack scoffed. "You think I can't tell the difference from reality and dreams? I may not have much power or training but I'm still a telepath. I know how to make dream constructs, that was basic first sequence learning!"

Jack carefully took aim at each shackle and shoot them off of each Time Lord, before he slipped his gun back into his pocket and pulled out copies of the Doctor and the Master's screwdrivers and tossed them to the two. "Come one. We might as well try to destroy those damned drums while we're here." Jack told them before heading off in the direction that the drums seemed to be coming from...

 

 **A/n:** Ah, the dangers of a Time Lord mind....


	9. Drum Hunt

**A/n:** Be ye for warned! An actual relationship is starting to show! I mean come on, did anyone really think this wouldn't happen what with the bond and with Jack being part of it all?

* * *

**_Drum Hunt_ **

As the four of them wandered through the mindscape they grew more comfortable just being around one another and feeling each other's presence. Until Jack had a thought, he died so often and his last return had felt so different, what if it affected the others? What if him dying hurt them? It wasn't like he could survive without dying at least once forever and he wasn't a Time Lord. What was he going to do? It was obvious that the he'd have trouble leaving if he tried, even if it was to protect them. Would the Tardis even let him go after forcing him to give a DNA sample for the permanent bonding? Jack didn't know. He honestly didn't know what would happen if any of them tried to leave or if something happened to kill one of them permanently. He felt a small smack to his arm and looked up to find Martha walking next to him.

"You look like you're trying to win the dark thoughts of the year award." She teased then in concern. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking about what might happen if something went horribly wrong." Jack admitted sheepishly, causing the other three to stop dead in their tracks.

"You are not leaving us and if you die again we'll deal with it." The Doctor told him fiercely, turning on him.

"If you so much as consider it again you'll find out exactly what those drums have been urging me to do to you, freak!" The Master hissed.

Jack was taken aback at how the two had turned on him so viciously when he'd even barely brought it up. "Wha? How?" 

The Doctor's expression softened. "You were thinking rather loudly, Jack. Something that you should know about our species, since you're effectively dating us, we're very possessive. All of that bed hopping that you've been doing? It stops, now." The Doctor turned away and strode forward, once again searching for the source of the drums.

"If you hurt him, you'll wish you could stay dead because all of the regenerations in all of creation wouldn't be able to stop what I'll do to you." The Master threatened before he turned and followed the Doctor on his search for the source of his pesky drum problem.

"Well, I guess we have to make sure those two don't see someone as a threat, don't we?" Martha observed as she watched Jack recover from the threats of doom, repeated death, and dismemberment.

"I guess so." Jack agreed a little unsteadily, then after a look at one another the two hurried to catch up with the last remaining natural born Time Lords in existence.

As the two caught up with the Gallifreyans they started to really notice the change in the scenery. When Jack had first arrived it had resembled a medieval castle with the other three chained into a room with no windows but as they all had moved onto what had at first seemed like it should have been a balcony it shifted into a sort of dune like appearance made of some sort of fleshy-moss-like sandy material colored varying shades of pink and red. The path that they were currently following might have once been a stream bed of some kind.

"Is it just me or is the world turning just plain weird?" Martha asked after a few more minutes of walking in the strange landscape.

"Considering you were a medical student before you became our daughter this is fairly mild. If the landscape had decided to delve into mine or the Master's minds we might run across something particularly nasty before long." The Doctor commented absently.

"Now you've done it!" The Master threw his hands up in exasperation.

"What?" The Doctor asked, startled.

"You just guaranteed that we'll have to face something from our own minds." The Master informed him angrily with a glare causing the Doctor to give them all a sheepish glance of apology to the entire group.

"The girl hasn't developed or faced anything like the darkness that we have or that Handsome Jack's likely got." The Master continued to berate him. "You know perfectly well that her background..."

"Yes, I do." The Doctor glared at the Master, interrupting him. "I also know that she's strong enough to deal with it. I was prepared to send her off with a half formed plan to stop you when it became obvious that you might be half way reasonable about the situation. I never planned for what happened. I never thought that I might get loose once you had me or that I'd be able to use anything even remotely reasonable or safe to try and stop you. You've been getting worse over the centuries, don't think I haven't noticed. I honestly thought I would have to deliver the deathblow, no matter how much it would have destroyed me. You weren't even this sane the last time we fought!"

The Master was quiet for a moment, staring at the Doctor before he answered in a much quieter tone. "I managed to fix some of the shattering my mind had undergone while I was in the matrix before they restored me to fight in the war. You... noticed?"

"Of course I noticed!" The Doctor responded angrily, turning on him. "We've been friends for centuries and fought one another for most of that time as well. Did you honestly think that I couldn't tell something was wrong? Just because I didn't trust your assessment of the situation doesn't mean I'm completely daft."

"Um, guys? I think we need to shelve the discussion until later." Jack interrupted drawing their attention to the fact that they were now surrounded by soldiers of some human-looking species or other.

The soldiers were wearing some kind of black shimmery body suit with a utility/weapons harness and a utility belt. Their boots were pitch black with no visible seal and clearly made to take a beating. All of the equipment was worn around the edges a bit but clearly well cared for. The faces of the soldiers themselves showed clearly their veteran status of both the men and the women. The weapons where a bit of a mix between futuristic sonic and laser weaponry and older projectile weapons. Each and every soldier carried an extensive assortment of blades from throwing knives to kitchen knives to combat knives to short swords to long swords to throwing axes to battle axes to bastard swords to even katanas; If you could think of a type of blade then one of them was carrying it. There was also a large range among the projectile weapons that was being carried and currently being pointed at the small group. Jack noted at least three different types of late 20th century sniper rifles, four laser pistols of various types and power levels, two bowmen who were clearly handling their weapons expertly, and was that a south african blow gun?

"Oh." The Doctor said in disappointment and started figgiting after he'd put his back to Jack, Martha, and the Master. He didn't talk. He didn't try to find anything in his pockets. He just stood there figgiting with his back to his companions as if cornered and fighting with himself not to try and bolt in fear.

"Doctor?" The Master asked softly. "Didn't you work with these rebels to over throw me on Marnus 5? If I remember your meeting correctly you did rather well and they took a shine to you."

"What you saw was them running me to ground." The Doctor told them tightly. "My first meeting nearly got me tossed into the barbeque pit and I had to face down a genetically altered predator. Master, they'd taken one of their planets most fearsome predators and bred it with a Dalek, a Daemon, and an Eknodine. I don't know how they got the DNA but they used Abandon's Daemon DNA." By this point both Jack and the Master were white as a sheet which Martha took as a bad sign even if she didn't under stand the same specifics that the men did.

"Yet you still led them against me and won." The Master pointed out as he and Jack also put their backs to one another and the Doctor, forcing Martha to do the same so that they all faced outward toward their surrounding opponents.

The Doctor snorted. "That was the fifth time they'd cornered me and I couldn't get away so I talked them into letting me face you. By that point they also had my Tardis. I was just glad that my companions had wanted a visit home while I went after a few repair parts. That regeneration gained a good number of scars from that mess. I regenerated soon after so you never found them."

"So then, any suggestions?" Martha asked nervously.

"I don't care how you feel about it, you let us treat you as the Gallifreyan child that you are." The Master ordered tightly. "Most species find the killing of the young of any species abhorrent."

"Nice to know." Martha said nervously. 

Suddenly one of the soldiers allowed his weapon to swing down to his side as he drew a knife and lunged for Martha's throat. Jack jerked Martha backward by the shoulder just far enough that the swing missed as the Master caught the swinging limb, wrenched it, breaking the wrist and taking the knife from the now limp hand as its owner cried out in pain and the soldiers tensed in preparation for an attack. Jack, the Doctor, and the Master shifted so that Martha was shoved into the center of the three of them as they stayed back to back. By this point the Master had the knife in a kill hold, clearly ready to use it and his teeth bared, his laser screwdriver in his left. The Doctor was stone faced with his own screwdriver in his right hand, already set to give off a sonic pulse to shatter the eardrums of their attackers with their higher than human sensitivity to high pitched sounds. Jack had his revolver in his left hand and his boot knife in his right hand, he stared at the soldiers, grim faced, waiting. The group heard laughter from the top of a nearby rise and quickly glanced toward it before doing a double take and staring at the figure atop the rise, laughing.

"A perfect solution." Rassilon declared. "The anchor bonded with the traitor and the abomination. You've even brought me a lost child of Gallifrey."

"No." The Doctor whispered in horror, staring up at the Time Lord president.

"Doc, the drums, they seem to be coming from Mr. Important up on the ridge." Jack told them quietly.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" The Master demanded of Rassilon, not moving from his defensive possition.

"Just added a little heart for your planet, boy. The double heartbeat of a Time Lord." Rassilon sneered. "You will use the signal to pull us from the seal the _traitor_ at your side trapped all of Gallifrey in and we will complete the final sanction. The child will go to a proper family and the three of you will get your just rewards."

 

 

**A/n:** Surprised by Rassilon? So was I. I never saw him coming.


	10. Blue Light Special

**A/n:** Hmm, lets see we have Jack, the Doctor, the Master, and Martha in the bond. So who are we missing....?

* * *

**_Blue Light Special_ **

"What do you mean by ^just rewards^?" Jack asked carefully.

"Shut up Jack." The Doctor told him shortly. "He's gone mad, they all had near the end of the war. The Final Sanction is the end of time, literally. They want to rip it apart. They've convinced themselves that they can transform themselves into pure thought, rip apart time and win the war unaffected by the destruction they'll wreak."

Jack stared at the Doctor. "But that's insane." He said in shock.

"Which is why my hand was forced." The Doctor admitted, never taking his eyes from Rassilon. "Jack, I'm the one who ended the war. I Time Locked the entire thing and didn't expect to survive it. The Tardis dragged me from the war just as it finished sealing. I couldn't stop her with the state I was in. I just wanted to die."

"You'll get your wish, traitor, but not for a long while yet." Rassilon spat. "You will burn as Gallifrey still burns. Take them!" He ordered the group.

Suddenly there was a scraping wheezing sound growing and echoing around the small ravine they were trapped in. Once it became easily recognizable a voice pure and clear started singing, melodious notes soaring through the air as the sound of the Tardis materializing grew louder and louder. Blue walls began forming around the foursome, going slowly from a barely there outline to a transparent blue outline of the walls and doors to something a bit more solid.

"You cannot escape me that easily!" Rassilon called out to them in scorn as he hit the still partly transparent Tardis with a bolt of power.

She shuddered under the power of the blow and started fading back out still singing, if it was possible, even more strongly as she changed to a blue ball of light, a will-o-the-wisp the same pure color as her physical form. She hovered over her group for a moment before she started weaving among and through them building them blue armor and weapons out of her very essence and heart, trailing blue sparkling dust everywhere. A shimmering 6 in. blue tinted blade grew out of the base of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and a similarly matching short sword formed at his waist complete with blue leather belt and blue leather sheath. Jack's revolver took on the blue-metal sheen just as his knife did and he instinctively knew that he wouldn't need to reload it. His knife on the other hand lengthened and changed into a dagger that was almost a short sword in his hand. The Master's captured knife also gained the blue-tint but it didn't just grow in length to a good 6 & 1/2 in. it also grew a fitted knuckle duster grip. 

Martha, who had been wishing for _something_ to use as a weapon felt only a cool reassurance as the Tardis began changing her wardrobe into dark leather, lining it with a blue-tinted metal mesh as reinforcement, almost as if it were Kevlar. She could feel the slightly increased weight of her clothes but also the fact that it otherwise didn't restrict her movement in the least. The Doctor's own armor transformation began with his trench coat which seemed dusted with blue glitter and gained a fluid but also almost metallic sheen to it while his already blue suit seemed to take on an almost blue shimmery chain-like pattern from pinstripe to pinstripe. The Master's clothes took on a similar transformation to the Doctor's but he only seemingly received a heavy dusting of blue glitter which gave away the transformation of clothes to armor. The transformation of Jack's clothes was the most surprising and startling. His great coat changed into a light and thin breast plate of the same blue-tinted metal, while his shirt shifted to a light blue linen tunic and his pants turned into black leather with lacing up each hip holding them tightly in place.

"Someone want to explain what just happened? 'cuz I'm drawing a blank." Jack asked still holding his defensive position, ready to fight any attacker who decided they wanted to try and preempt the group's transformation. "And if I'm not mistaken the metal isn't just blue now, its become Damascus steel. Do you have any idea how good this stuff is? Or how expensive it is?"

"Yes, we're well aware of the properties of Damascus steel. When he found the chapter on it in our primitive weapons course he wouldn't shut up about it for a month! I finally had to steal the sample in the headmaster's office for him to look at just to get him to eat something and take a kip. He still wouldn't part with it until I finally told him where I'd gotten it from and that I had to put it back." The Master practically growled out.

"You shouldn't have stolen it." The Doctor told him pointedly, never dropping his guard but he did switch his dagger/screwdriver to his left hand and draw his new sword from its sheath.

"You wanted a look at some and I had planned to put it back within a half hour which you know perfectly well was easily within the staff's accepted ^borrow and examine but return quickly without damage^ ruling. You wouldn't give it back." The Master groused similarly switching hands with his knife and screwdriver but flipping his new knife into a more combat friendly position so that he was less likely to accidentally slice his own wrist open rather than his opponents.

The supposed rebels had been inching forward and had switched to less instantly lethal toys. It took everything that the three men had to keep the group at bay but it wasn't long before they were overwhelmed, their weapons knocked from their hands and restrained as Rassilon strode down into the ravine to look over his new captives. When their captors tried to pick up their weapons they disappeared after burning the one who tried to claim them, leaving vicious burn marks and foul temperments behind, even the sheath at the Doctor's waist disappeared when his sword did. Just as the last of their items disappeared the light which was the Tardis gave off a blinding flash, this caused the grip on the four to loosen momentarily, just long enough for the four to try and wrench free. Only Martha managed to struggle completely free of her captor and bolt since the others were to well guarded and Rassilon had expected an escape attempt at some point.

When the light cleared and Rassilon could see the situation clearly again he saw Martha running around the far side of a nearby dune with the Tardis-light bobbing over her head as she ran. He swore viciously and ordered. "Well? Go get her!" causing about half the group to scramble after her.

 

 

 **A/n:** Dun dun DUN!!!!! Thoughts? Comments? Questions?


	11. Punishment

**A/n:** Martha's run off with the Tardis, the boys are in a bit of trouble and Rassilon clearly has something to do with the Master's drums... What else could go wrong?

* * *

**_Punishment_ **

"Leave her alone!" The Doctor's shout was ignored and only earned him a kick to the gut by one of his captors. 

Jack dragged the Doctor backward, stuffing the Time Lord between himself and the Master as they both shielded him and glared up at their captors. They'd all been forced to the ground during their various escape attempts and were glad that at least Martha might have gotten away, even if she had half of their captors trying to chase her down at the moment. At least Rassilon wasn't seeing to her capture personally, there was no telling what he would do to them and the prospects were even less appealing should he ^take a shine^ to Martha. Jack tried not to think about something like that happening. He'd been in enough wars, undergrounds, and revolutions as a Time Agent to know that sometimes what you were fighting to stop was happening one room over and you couldn't always stop it without getting yourself and the person being hurt killed. He'd ignored it then but he was a different man now and Jack wasn't going to let that happen to Martha or the Doctor if he could help it. For the Doctor's sake he'd also do the same for the Master, but he suspected that it would be him and the Master working together to keep Martha and the Doctor in the dark and protected from any... threats that they had to take care of discretely and permanently. He was brought sharply back to their current predicament by a blow to the head, which he immediately shook off, then glared at the man who'd delivered it.

"You'd better hope your friends don't catch her." Jack hissed at his assailant. "If they do and she happens to get hurt then I'll come for you and your little play group. Killing me wont stop me, after all I don't stay dead." The utter coldness and truth that the man saw in Jack's gaze as the threat was delivered caused him to quickly remove himself from the vicinity of the captives.

"Good on the menace, an effective threat, but lacking a bit in style." The Master critiqued.

"Master!" The Doctor scolded in exasperation, then he turned on Jack, disappointment in his eyes and voice. "You really shouldn't have done that, Jack."

"It wont matter, traitor." Rassilon told them gleefully. "They will be joining you in your punishment. The abomination, for what it is and the Master, for not yet retrieving us from the time lock."

The Doctor gave him a dead stare, not holding back one bit, allowing the full fury of his own darkness, his own storm to show, causing Rassilon to take a step back in shock. "Even with all of the regret and wishing there had been another way, even with the nightmares, torment, and torture that the decision has put me through over the centuries. I would make the same choice again knowing the full consequences and torment that will result. My body may have been dragged from the war by my Tardis against my wishes after I triggered the seal but my mind still hasn't left it. Just as you and the others are dead, the war is still killing me, it just hasn't finished destroying me first." The Doctor informed him solemnly causing Jack and the Master to exchange surprised and worried glances. "I am well aware of my crimes and I have not run from the natural punishment that all of our people endure for such things. I never once used the reconciliation techniques that were developed to combat the nightmares and battle fatigue that the war brought to us. I never once forgot the faces of the victims or the sight of the disasters that the war brought. I never removed the emotion from those memories, even though I knew it would eventually kill me. Had you been sane, none of you would have even considered the Final Sanction. If it were possible I would return to before the war and submit myself for judgement and punishment, any punishment. The humans I travel with keep me from going to far, from destroying where there is no need. They are my ultimate conscious and leash when my own efforts have failed. They always have been." Jack hugged him close, ignoring the lack of response. The Master had an altogether different take on the matter... 

"You bloody idiot." The Master told him softly, startling the Doctor from his reverie of pain and remembrance. "No wonder you have a death wish. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep up with you? Now you go and do something stupid like this."

"Don't." The Doctor warned.

"That's enough, both of you." Jack said sharply. "Focus on what we're dealing with now, anything else can be taken care of later."

"Since you volunteered, the abomination shall go first." Rassilon told them with false sincerity as he motioned for Jack to be separated from the other two.

Jack didn't go quietly. They had to force him to a position several feet away. Another hand motion from Rassilon began the beating. The Master had to restrain the Doctor so that he wouldn't try to get to Jack and toss his assailants off of him and get badly hurt in the process as was bound to happen, worsening the punishment for all of them. The utter fury that was stirred in both captive Time Lords as they were forced to watch as Jack was beaten to a bloody pulp first with fists and feet then other tools were used. It was clear that these men had done such things before, they were quite expert in their bloody work and blood soon flew. They knew exactly how far a human body could go, this became quickly clear along with the fact that Rassilon didn't intend to give any of them the chance to regenerate and heal or die and escape his retribution. By the time the tormentors stopped working Jack over he had fallen unconscious several times only to have been forced back into wakefulness each time. Rassilon grinned in satisfaction as he ended the beating and motioned the men to return Jack to the two Time Lords. They did this with little care for Jack and his injuries causing him to cry out as they had been unable to cause before. Throughout the beating aside from a moan or a groan here and there Jack had done his best to remain silent and deny his captors the satisfaction of acknowledging their strikes. The Doctor and the Master had also been grimly silent throughout the assault, despite the Doctor's repeated attempts to escape the Master's grip to try and go to Jack's side.

"I believe that I'll let you think about this for a bit. Perhaps by then the child might have joined our little discussion." Rassilon told them maliciously. "She might be salvageable, if not... *shrug* She can always join the three of you."

* * *

 **A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	12. Dropping In

**A/n:** Oh dear it looks like Rassilon actually has something in mind for them, and its not something nice. I wonder where Martha managed to get to...

* * *

> _Last Time..._
> 
> _"I believe that I'll let you think about this for a bit. Perhaps by then the child might have joined our little discussion." Rassilon told them maliciously. "She might be salvageable, if not... *shrug* She can always join the three of you."  
> _

* * *

**_Dropping In_ **

With that Rassilon had them dragged back to the castle they had so recently come from and chained to a different wall of the same room. Before he left them alone to contemplate their actions and fate he told them something, something that made their blood run cold. "If I don't think that the girl might be useful and you continue to resist correction then the girl will be the first to experience some of the more strenuous correction that has been developed for you, traitor." He laughed as he left the room.

"He's not going to let us die is he?" Jack asked tiredly, pain evident in his voice.

"No." The Doctor said quietly. "Not until he gets what he wants and perhaps not even then. But what I can't quite figure out is how he's here. I sealed the time war, its time locked. I know he was on Gallifrey at the time."

The Master looked over Jack keenly. "You said that you thought the drums were coming from him, from Rassilon." He said quietly, more a statement then a question.

Jack nodded tiredly. His wounds were healing faster then a normal humans but not quite as fast as perhaps a Time Lord's would have. "Exactly how unpredictable is this guy?" he asked, barely having the strength to remain partly upright in his chains, which forced them all to stand against the walls behind them.

"Very, Rassilon was one of those most affected by the war. He's got an unnaturally strong need to keep living. Our infinite regenerations will come partly from you and partly from the time integration effect. Rassilon, well no one is quite sure how he managed to become our equivalent of immortal, endless regenerations." The Doctor said with a shake of his head. "Sometimes I think that we live to long."

The Master felt a spike of unnaturally strong pain come from Jack and looked at him sharply. Jack winced in pain but otherwise didn't seem to notice. Over the next several minutes increasingly powerful waves of something that almost seemed like telepathic and empathic power came from Jack as if the beating had broken some sort of restraint or binding that had been put in place around certain inherent abilities that Jack must have. The Doctor had noticed at the same time as the Master and was watching Jack in concern but said nothing.

"Damn it!" Jack cursed and stamped his foot, after a particularly painful spike that felt like a railroad spike being driven through his skull from just over his left eye to the base of his skull.

"Jack?" The Doctor asked worriedly.

"Nothing. I'm just getting pain spikes. Must have some form of concussion." Jack told them tersely.

"Considering the power that's rolling off of you, I doubt that's all it is." The Master said dryly. "Have you ever had a particularly powerful nightmare, dream sequence, relative, or survived a fight with someone that supposedly had more psychic ability than you did?"

"Yes, its how the Time Agency found me. I got into an argument with a Time Agent and someone he was perusing and they decided to use psychic attacks as well as the more normal weapons they carried. Dad had taken me to see the space station and help with getting the new equipment for our settlement. We might not have been invaded except for the once but we did get raided a couple of times. Just quick smash and grabs, nothing fancy. The Agent and his quarry weren't bothering to be careful about the people around them. I don't know how or why but I think I managed to toss something into their heads and knock them both out. I was never able to do that again and after the training and treatment from the agency I've always felt like I'm sort of wrapped in a very thin blanket when I use my telepathy." Jack admitted candidly. "They told me I wasn't very powerful but that it would help keep me from being messed with psychically."

"That's not possible." The Doctor half whispered.

"Apparently it is." The Master told him scathingly, then to Jack. "Looks like you got a bit of a boost when we bonded. *sigh* You'll need to be trained too. We'll need to rip out any barriers or bindings those idiots at the Time Agency put in and see what other damage they've done." The Master considered him for a moment, then shook his head.

"First we need to get free and get Martha back." Jack insisted. "My training can wait. If you have to leave me behind. Its not like he can do all that much to me any way."

"That's where you're wrong, abomination." Rassilon said from the doorway. 

He entered the room carrying a small cage which contained a small glowing blue light that was furiously flitting about inside, trying to find some sort of flaw or break in the containment that would allow it to slip through to freedom. Rassilon had managed to capture the Tardis. Had he captured Martha as well? They didn't know but they dreaded the possible answer.

"Where's Martha?" Jack demanded.

Rassilon looked at him in annoyance. "Unfortunately, the child still hasn't been run to ground, but it wont be long until she will be brought back into the fold."

Hearing this the Master snorted in contempt. "I very much doubt that. She's our daughter, not some weak stripling of girl, even if her becoming our daughter was a bit unusual." 

This caused Rassilon to look at them sharply. "I see." He said carefully. "Perhaps I shouldn't have fought with Dagur so much over the enemy marriage contract between the two of you I finally signed, or tried to slow its progress to a crawl." At these words both Time Lords stared at him in complete shock.

"Just out of curiosity are you actually here? In the bond? Or are you still stuck inside the time war?" Jack asked trying to distract everyone and allow his two Time Lords a chance to recover.

"Both, my body and the larger portion of my mind is still within the time lock but I attached part of myself to the signal which I embedded in the Master in case I needed to force the issue of retrieving Gallifrey from the war." Rassilon told him absently as he continued to watch the two rebel Time Lords. "I made certain that he wouldn't be able to expel me alone. He would never be willing to form a permanent bond with another Time Lord and nothing short of that will remove me or the signal."

"I'm sorry but how close is a permanent bond to a mating bond?" Jack asked almost apologetically, almost.

This time it was the Doctor who answered as he looked at the Master in both pity and sympathy. "One step down." He said softly. "Its the step before a full mating bond and where you usually stop if you want a bond with someone that is as strong as possible without actually being mated. Like with a mating bond you are bound together for all eternity but it excludes the mating drive and wont forcibly trigger any mating urges."

The Master had gone white as a sheet but he still snarled in rage at Rassilon, lunging for him only to be jerked to a stop just short of the personality fragment by the chains that bound him to the wall behind him. No one noticed Martha calmly walk into the room just behind Rassilon with a clearly hand made particle cannon in her hands pointed directly at Rassilon's back. No one noticed her release the safety and ratchet the power level up to the point where it would easily incinerate the man.

"I suggest you step away from my new dads unless you want a nice hole in your back." She informed Rassilon calmly, freezing the entire tableau in place at her words.

Slowly, ever so slowly Rassilon turned around to face her and stared in disbelief. "Alright, Martha!" Jack crowed in delight.

"However did you manage that?" The Doctor asked in bewilderment as the Master also stared in confusion. "You've only been a Time Lord for less then a day. We haven't had time to teach you the basics much less how to do _that_."

"The Tardis might not have been willing to give me glowing weapons like she gave you but she did show me a junk yard and how to fix this." Martha lifted her cannon slightly, showing it off. "It was mostly already put together and only needed a few parts replaced from the junk lying around it. Besides I'm starting to think that she can't give me weapons like she did for you lot, at least not yet. You said I've got a child's link with her and that I translated directly from human to Time Lord. Well what if my equivalent age didn't translate?"

The Master's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I thought that we'd already explained that it didn't. If we'd been on Gallifrey or had access to Gallifrey you'd likely have been sent immediately to the infirmary to be checked over by certified healers, we'd all have gone through the _Rising Sleep_ and then you'd have been sent off to start your classes at one academy or another." He told her. "You'd have had some trouble catching up with those in your new age group unless you were considered a genius among your species in the first place and maybe even then, provided that we'd be willing to send you in the first place. As it is we'll be the ones teaching you not those pompous fools that taught at the academy's." By this point Rassilon was purpling in rage over the fact that Martha had gotten the drop on him and they were casually discussing breaking Time Lord law while holding him at gun... well cannon point.

"Traitor." Rassilon spat at her.

Martha just looked at him partly in disappointment and partly in shocked disbelief over his naivete despite his supposedly great age. "You must be joking. Haven't you been listening at all? How can I be a traitor when I haven't been a Time Lord for even 24 hours? I was born human. The only Time Lord who I know anything about is the Doctor and I know barely anything at all about him. Calling me a traitor just shows how much of a nutter you really are." 

By this point the Tardis had managed to find the single weakest point in her cage and she had been slowly applying pressure to it. It wasn't breaking easily however, it was of Time Lord make after all. She was already applying the same amount pressure that humans used to make artificial diamonds out of carbon. She could just feel it beginning to crumple under the pressure, breaking its connection to the unaffected pieces to either side outside of the compression field she was projecting. It only took her one last second to break through then she was free and flitting about the room, touching the chains and manacles that bound each member of her pack. As she touched them they fell away to dust and iron flakes, she had aged the restraints into oblivion. Clearly the Tardis was unhappy and was going to be extremely over protective for a while, the Master didn't even get a nip of static electricity or other small petty punishment for his misdeeds. Finally the Tardis alighted on Martha's shoulder and waited, pulsing slightly. None of them moved, they knew when to freeze around an upset female, of any species...

"So, what now?" Jack asked tentatively, trying to break the uncomfortable stalemate.

"We find those bloody drums and destroy them." Martha told him, still glaring at Rassilon. "We should tie up this nutter and leave him to rot." This set Rassilon off laughing madly, causing the three men to sidle away from him.

"Child, I am the drums." Rassilon told her maliciously. "Unless you think you can destroy me without harming your beloved sire." He gestured at the Master. "You are a fool and wasting precious time to retrieve Gallifrey from the time lock."

"You can't be serious!" Martha asked him incredulously.

Rassilon just grinned at her, madness clear in his gaze. Hearing this the Tardis' pulsing had changed and was becoming increasingly more violent and blindingly bright blue, almost searingly so. Before Martha had a chance to even twitch the Tardis hopped from her shoulder and onto a very particular part of the cannon. She pulsed, flipping 3-4 switches in an increasingly complex pattern. Martha had no clue what the Tardis was doing and wasn't even going to try to figure it out, she just hoped that the sentient time ship knew what it was doing and that it wouldn't blow up in their faces.

It took the Doctor a few seconds of watching the patterns unfold under the Tardis' manipulations for him to figure out exactly what his ship was doing but when he did his eyes opened wide in shock and he lunged forward with a cry of "Stop!" only to be brought up short yet again by two sets of male hands. The Master had also figured out what the Tardis was doing and realized that the Doctor would try to stop her. The Doctor struggled to get to get free and prevent what he saw as a repetition of his own crimes during the time war. Sobbing his struggles subsided just as the Tardis finished reconfiguring the particle cannon and nudged at Martha's hand giving her the go-ahead to fire. 

Martha's face firmed. "You shouldn't have threatened my family or my home." She informed him in a strong clear voice, then with some mental prompting from the Tardis she used the ancient ceremonial words to claim the forfeit owed not only to her but to all of earth and humanity as well as reinforcing a claim that was already in place. She claimed the last two Time Lords as the blood price for the betrayal of the Time Lord race. "In accordance with ancient Gallifreyan law set in time locked stone, infused with atron energy that even the untempered schism could not break. In accordance with the bloodline codes dating back to the first alpha, the first pilot, the first Tardis, to the beginning of the planetary pattern of the planet Gallifrey and with the blessing of time's essence and spirit. I claim The Doctor and The Master, the Tardis to which the Doctor is currently primary pilot, the Fixed Point Time Walker, and retain my own heritage as a human, binding and bound, the five of us to earth and humanity as a whole. As well as to continue to fulfill the obligations set upon both the Doctor and the Master when they were called as guardians of differing and balanced types to the very essence of the universe, meant to walk side by side but torn asunder by the early signs of the betrayal of the Time Lord race. This is the blood price, this is the forfeit. Do you dare challenge the claim?" She demanded.

The stunned silence that followed was nothing that any of them could have ever dreamed. Rassilon, the Doctor, and the Master all knew exactly what her declaration meant, Jack had an inkling and Martha just knew that it would keep Rassilon from maintaining a hold. She didn't have the background information that she needed to fully understand what she had just claimed. She didn't care. If she had known she would have said it far more fiercely, bitingly, and added a few more choice words into the mix. As it was she just stood there waiting for an answer, an acceptance or a challenge.

"No." Rassilon snarled breaking the extended silence. "I don't recognize your right to make the claim."

"Tough." Martha shot back and pulled the trigger. 

Immediately, the cannon fired, striking him in the torso with the modified particle beam at full power. The unearthly shriek of rage, fury, and pain that came from Rassilon as he was pulled into what appeared to be a small portal originating from the point at which the particle beam struck him sent a chill down their spines. The portal closed as soon as Rassilon was fully through the portal, and Martha dropped the particle cannon from limp fingers as she slumped to her knees, shaking. The dream world dissolved around them as they slowly awoke back in the _Sacred Rest_ chamber.

* * *

 **A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	13. Meet The Parents

**A/n:** They're out of dreamland now with the Jones waiting to see how Martha's doing. What kind of disaster do you think will ensue?

* * *

> _Last Time..._
> 
> _Immediately, the cannon fired, striking him in the torso with the modified particle beam at full power. The unearthly shriek of rage, fury, and pain that came from Rassilon as he was pulled into what appeared to be a small portal originating from the point at which the particle beam struck him sent a chill down their spines. The portal closed as soon as Rassilon was fully through the portal, and Martha dropped the particle cannon from limp fingers as she slumped to her knees, shaking. The dream world dissolved around them as they slowly awoke back in the Sacred Rest chamber.  
> _

* * *

**_Meet The Parents_ **

Martha sat up shivering and shaking in bed as her new parents all came over from their own respective positions and beds to wrap her and each other in a group hug. They sat their for what seemed like days, silently rocking and just holding each other, gaining comfort from such simple uncomplicated affection and touch. Throughout this whole time the Tardis had done her best to mentally sooth them and project warmth and safety. Eventually several hours after awakening they disentangled themselves from one another and just sat quietly together.

"The drums are gone." The Master said softly, finally breaking the silence.

"The combination of the claim and the modified particle cannon." The Doctor observed quietly.

"The Tardis gave me the words. I didn't really understand them except for the part that said I was telling him that you belong to me, earth, and humanity not to the Time Lords any more." Martha told them in a subdued voice.

"You did more than just that." The Master said ruefully.

"Later." The Doctor said. The Master nodded his agreement.

"So, how long do you think we were under?" Jack asked almost cheerfully, trying to dispel the doom and gloom.

"Oh, not all that long. Maybe 14 hours total." The Doctor said offhandedly. "We actually came out of the _Rising Sleep_ early, even by normal standards. Those drums must have been the absolute worst interference as well as the most damaging part of any of our psyche's for that to happen."

"More like a possession." The Master snorted. "When did he go that insane?"

The Doctor sobered immediately. "During the war." He said shortly.

"Well, I don't know about you boys but I'm going to go find my mum. Jack? Where did you stash them? I know you let them in the Tardis." Martha asked as she got up and headed for the door, causing three very alarmed males to scramble after her.

"We've got time. There's no rush to go and see them. I told them..." Jack said hurriedly before trailing off when he saw the look she was shooting his way.

"My mum is going to be bad enough as it is. What do you think will happen if she finds out that we didn't come see her as soon as we could?" Martha retorted sending them all a withering glare, causing Jack to wilt just a bit and the Doctor to look slightly guilty. The Master on the other hand didn't seem fazed at all. 

Martha opened the door to the chamber and silently thanked the Tardis along the bond as she found herself in a small library where her family was in various stages of worry, pacing, fiddling with one thing or another, or trying to read and failing miserably judging by Tris' body language.

"Well, I'm back." Martha said cheerfully as she entered the library with Jack, the Doctor, and the Master just behind her. The Tardis quietly closed and vanished the door as soon as they were clear of it. Then to make certain that none of her pack could bolt from the confrontation she finished isolating the section of rooms that her pack and the Jones were currently all in. She completed all of this with a slight chuckle along the bond which caused the Doctor and the Master to exchange concerned glances, and a shiver to run down Jack's spine.

"Martha, did you just feel that?" The Doctor asked in concern.

"What? The Tardis sealing us in with my family so that we can sort this all out or her evil chuckle?" Martha asked evilly earning a dumbfounded look of dawning horror from her packmates and the males in her human family. "Did you really think that we girls would let you all off that easily? You wont be able to bolt or escape until we've sorted this all out. A Time Lord pack might be able to do it safely inside a telepathic bond but humans are a bit messier, we have to actually talk it out, which often involves screaming at some point in our lives."

"Isn't that a bit evil, Martha?" Tish asked in amusement.

"Don't blame me, it was the Tardis' idea." Martha shrugged. "Apparently the Doctor has a bad habit of bolting whenever something like this comes up and he actually has to try and sort out anything that he's labeled domestic."

The Doctor spluttered before he finally managed to choke out. "I don't do domestic!"

Martha turned on him with a scowl, and a glare. "You'll do _this_ domestic." She ordered, poking him in the chest. "Its your fault this happened in the first place. I may have recognized the watch and convinced the Master to open it up, waking him back up, but you're the one who taught me about the chameleon arch. You're the one who didn't think to give any warning about enemies among your own people. You're the one who didn't think that the glow and glitter that was getting poured through us earlier on the Valiant might, just might have harmful side effects."

The Doctor had a pained expression on his face over these accusations. "Martha." He pleaded. "That's not fair. I didn't know. I didn't think..."

"No. You didn't think." Martha shot back. "You _will_ do this. I will not have my two families fighting, so we deal with it now before it becomes an issue." A moment of shocked silence followed Martha's declaration.

"We're supposed to raise her? I think she's going to wind up raising us." Jack said in disbelief, causing brief chuckles to break out all over the room, breaking the silence after Martha's justified tirade.

After hearing this Francine broke free of her own shock and stalked up to the Doctor, slapping him hard across the face, nearly knocking him to the floor with the power of her strike. "If you ever come near my family again." She threatened.

"Mum, you don't get a choice in the matter." Martha told her gently. "I'm a Time Lord now. The only Time Lords that are still alive are in this room. Me, the Doctor, and the Master, that's it. The rest of the Time Lords are dead. Time Lords are harder to hurt, harder to kill, and its harder for them to fall ill. I traveled with the Doctor for almost two years over the 12 hours I was off between us getting the Hospital back from the moon and going to Mr. Lazarus' presentation. I got to meet Shakespeare and see New New Earth. I watched a sun being born. I danced with IKanti children as they celebrated the harvest fall. I helped to heal an entire village of an illness that caused a waking sleep of endless dreams. You have no idea what amazing things there are out there. Yes, there are some dangers, but that's why the Doctor always does his best to teach us what's dangerous and what's not. He teaches us when to run, and when to stand tall, when to fight and when to fly, when to talk and when to retreat, when to plan and when to improvise." The laughter and joy in Martha's face, eyes, and expression was unmistakable. "What happened on the Valiant's bridge made me his daughter but it didn't change the fact that I'm still your daughter too, and I always will be, for as long as I live, however long that may be."

"If they are so hard to kill, how come its just the three of you now?" Leo asked quietly.

"There was a war." The Doctor said quietly. "A war fought for all of creation against the most terrible creatures you could ever meet. Both the Master and I fought in it, and our side was loosing. Our people had gone insane and decided that the only solution was to end time. I stopped them, sealing the war. I shouldn't have survived but I did. It was a fluke. I thought I was the only survivor until Martha and I found the Master at the end of the universe, rather literally. She woke him up. And here we are, the only two survivors on our side. I keep running into small groups of Daleks, the enemy. When I find them, I kill them."

"What are these, Daleks?" Clive asked with worry.

"Daleks." Jack said with venom evident in his voice. "Think of them as extreme alien Nazi's. Anything or anyone that isn't pure Dalek they destroy without mercy or conscience. Sometime they keep some things or some people around temporarily because they're useful, but as soon as they aren't useful anymore or become inconvenient in any way, whatever or whoever was kept is destroyed. Nearly every race that has heard of them or met them has the same policy, destroy on sight. The Doctor is there number one enemy and knows how to deal with them."

"There are many people who count the Doctor as their number one enemy but I was always the one that the Doctor counted as his." The Master smiled evilly and Martha smacked his arm for trying to scare her family.

"Stop it." She ordered, then pointed out. "You admitted that you've known each other since school." The Master just shrugged.

"So then, what happens now?" Francine asked. A loud unlocking echo sounded around the room and the door to the console room reappeared in the only open wall that was clearly visible to everyone.

"I'd say that the Tardis is satisfied that we've worked out our differences." Martha said in satisfaction, then she turned serious. "You _will_ make this work. We're all family now and there's no changing it. This wasn't someone signing a piece of paper saying that we're family, my DNA was literally changed. I'm all Time Lord but I'm also still all Martha. Please don't make me get the Tardis to help me lock you all into the same room again?" With that she turned and went out a different door heading for the hot tube that the Tardis had sent her an image of a moment ago. She badly needed a soak and a cup of hot cocoa.

The two groups just looked at each other and reached an unspoken understanding. They would try, for Martha's sake, they would try.

* * *

 **A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	14. Idiocy, Explanations, and Safety Nets

**_Idiocy, Explanations, and Safety Nets_ **

"Freak, would you help me try to recalibrate the internal stabilizers? I want to see if we can get this old bucket to stop throwing us around while we're in flight." The Master asked Jack, breaking the stillness and stalemate that had resulted when Martha had left the room.

The Doctor frowned at him. "Now wait a moment. She flies perfectly fine." He protested.

Jack and the Master exchanged a knowing look before Jack said. "Sure, it'll be good to work on the Tardis again."

"I'll come with you." The Doctor said with determination.

"What's the matter Doctor? Don't you trust me?" The Master mocked.

"No." The Doctor told him flatly. "I know you, you wont work on repairing her and if you do you'll do something else as well. Something sneaky that will probably take me hours to undo after I've dodged it."

"I'll watch him, doc." Jack told him confidently. "If nothing else I can always sic Martha on him through the bond and you know that she wont be happy if she has to deal with him in the middle of her ^me^ time, even if she doesn't have to move to chew him out." He finished with a grin.

"Still..." The Doctor waffled.

"You aren't coming." The Master said flatly ending the discussion. "Stay, talk to the Jones, Jack knows knows enough to keep me from doing anything to dastardly." The Master told him as he rolled his eyes, the practically dragged Jack out of the room with him.

Once they had gone a few hundred feet and made half a dozen turns the Master pulled Jack into a random room and used his laser screwdriver to lock the door. Jack watched all of this with some wariness and some amusement.

"Sooo, I'm guessing that we wont be working on those stabilizers." Jack said casually.

"I want to establish the mate bond but I think that it will hurt the Doctor if you aren't part of it to help stabilize the bond." The Master told him abruptly.

"Whoa!" Jack held up his hands in a surrender-like fashion. "Hold on. You want to run that by me again? This time with a little more information?"

The growled in frustration, then he tried to explain. "I've been trying to court him since we were in school. It hasn't worked very well."

"Ya think?" Jack asked archly.

The Master shot him a look before continuing. "What happened in the link proved that he needs a link to someone aside from his Tardis to act as a psychic stabilizer. Normally a pack bond would be enough but he's taken it to far, allowed the damage to spread to widely. If we don't do _something_ we may still lose him." The Tardis lent her silent agreement through the bond, encouraging Jack's agreement.

Jack nodded slowly. "Alright, what do I do? I'm assuming that you want to establish the bond with me first to try and make it easier on him?"

The Master nodded in relief. "You have to be the one to initiate the bond or he wont believe that I didn't force the issue. He's still going to be suspicious until we can bring him into the bond but that be can't helped. We may even need to corner him and force him to at least fact the issue. I'd rather not force the bond on him, it may do more harm than good." He explained.

"You know he's going to feel it and realize what we've done." Jack pointed out as he slowly reached his hands forward to rest on the Master's pressure points. The Master simply nodded. "Okay, here goes nothing." Jack said and with that he threw his connection to the Master wide open and reached for him. The Master met him half way and as they jointly wove their life threads together into a mate bond leaving room for the Doctor.

The pack bond flared. Martha sat bolt up right from her soak in the hot tub, cursing over the stupidity of reckless Time Lord males as she hurriedly grabbed her clothes.

The Doctor's head snapped around to stare at the door to the room in horror, ignoring his conversation with Tish. His whispered horrified "no" was barely out of his mouth before he bolted through the door toward where he could feel both Jack and the Master completing their bond less than 20 feet away where the Tardis had moved them. The Doctor slammed into the locked door and bounced off of it. He then hastily pulled out his sonic screw driver and unlocked the door, bursting in just as Jack and the Master broke apart and sank to the floor in exhaustion.

"You don't know what you've done." He said in disbelief as he stared down at the barely conscious pair.

Martha was just rounding the corner at the same time that her family was doing the same at the opposite end of the hall as they had followed the Doctor in his panicked flight toward Jack and the Master. The Doctor was still standing in the doorway staring down at the two men when they got to him.

Seeing the Doctor in such a shocked and unresponsive state worried Martha but didn't stop her from taking command of the situation. "Mum, see if you can find a room with beds nearby. I'm going to need to examine them and from the way the Doctor's losing I may need to look at him as well. Leo, dad, find something we can use to carry them to the beds once mum's found them. Tish, watch the Doctor. We don't need him going unconscious on us as well." Martha ordered. "Honestly, why couldn't they have waited until I was done with my soak? I'm going to kill them when they wake up." She muttered as the rest of her family wisely obeyed her orders without comment and she set about making sure that her pack mates hadn't gone and gotten themselves trapped in their own minds or done something else daft.

It wasn't until 6 hours later that they got any kind of response out of the pair, the Doctor had quickly recovered from his shock and been pacing worriedly around their room ever since. Jack was the first to groan signaling his first stirrings to consciousness and it was soon after that the Master gave a similar groan. Both wriggled weakly in their respective beds before eventually opening their eyes to peer around blearily.

"What in all of the cursed unnamed _hells_ , did the two of you think you were doing?!" The Doctor demanded. "Do you have any idea what you've done? For Rassilon's sake! I'm tempted to just lock the two of you in a secure room on the Tardis after I've chained you to the wall in deadlock sealed chains! Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do with you, and... Stop it! Stop laughing! This isn't funny."

By this point in the Doctor's tirade both Jack and the Master were lying in bed laughing over how worried the Doctor had become and the fact that they had done it for the very man who was now chewing them out and completely oblivious of why they'd done it in the first place. Which is how Martha found them 5 minutes later when she poked her head in the room to check on them.

"Well it seems that you two are feeling better. You gave us a right scare." She scolded as she came over to the beds and checked the monitors and equipment that the Tardis had provided when they had moved the twosome to the beds from the cold floor of the other room. "You want to explain why you pulled something so stupid?"

"Not really." Jack admitted, still feeling weak.

"Well, you aren't going anywhere from the look of it. Can either of you even get out of bed?" She asked curiously, causing the two invalids to exchange uneasy glances before quickly looking away from one another.

The Doctor threw up his hands in exasperation. "Well that's just great! Do you have any idea how stupid that was?"

"Nowhere near as stupid as refusing to deal with your memories of the war and letting them kill you slowly." The Master shot back causing the Doctor to take a step backward in shock. "The only reason we had such an adverse reaction is because we were missing someone while we wove it!" He retorted suddenly angry.

"Master!" Jack snapped at him, when he turned to the Doctor he use a much softer tone of voice, almost coaxing. "We were leaving room for you. We just didn't want you to feel cornered or have problems if you ever bonded with us. We both agreed that it would be safer if we established a bond first, even if you only choose one of us."

"You still haven't dealt with those memories." The Master pointed out. "The pack bond along with your pilot bond should have been enough to help stabilize you but it wasn't. You know it wasn't. It was obvious from your argument with that fragment of Rassilon, so please don't try and deny it. You adopted Martha so she was out. Jack doesn't have enough power on his own and our history means that without someone else in the bond to help keep us in check and balance us I can't help you alone. It would turn into one of our arguments and escalate to a level that would threaten the planet. Choose Theta, because if you refuse the next step is locking you in the Zero room and forcing you to watch your own memories and mine, of the war."

By this point the Doctor was very pale and leaning against the wall. "Bastard. You wont get the chance." 

He swiftly turned to leave the room only to have the door melt away in front of his eyes, trapping the four of them in the room. Martha just barely managed to grab the Doctor before his shaking legs gave out underneath him. She eased him to the floor, and gently lay him back onto the floor between the two beds.

She stood back and scowled at them. "You aren't doing anything of the sort. You're going to rest, all of you." She told them sternly. "If I have to tie you to the bed to make you rest then I will. Tardis? Can we have at least one more bed please and a toilet? Oh, and some way to get food? I'll write a note so that you can deliver it to Tish and she can tell the rest of my family so they wont worry. I'll deal with these stubborn men." She glared at them as the Tardis obligingly provided a door to a small kitchenette and a bathroom as well as a bed each for the Doctor and for Martha. Martha was also quite pleased with the sturdy oak desk that was provided for her to use as she watched over her men.

"Now, Martha is this really necessary?" The Doctor wheedled from his position on the floor, still pale.

Martha was investigating the contents of her new desk and found a number of soft restraints in case she had to actually follow through on her threat along with a good supply of medical supplies and the standard basic paper and pens/pencils. The Tardis wasn't giving the boys any excuse to leave Martha's care. She'd even provided a translated medical text on Gallifreyan biology along with the stored medical charts on all three of the men.

Martha held up the medical text with a raised eyebrow, showing them clearly what she held. "Apparently the Tardis agrees with my diagnosis. You aren't going anywhere."

"Exactly how long has it been since you've seen a proper healer, Doctor?" The now quite pale Master asked faintly.

"Oh, it must have been at least 5 regenerations ago." The Doctor said lightly as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with that, then he noticed how fast Martha was devouring the Medical text. She was reading at Time Lord speed and almost done the thick dimensionally expanded tome. A moment later she looked up from the tome closing it with a final *snap* and glared at him. Judging from how long it had taken her to read it, with sinking hearts, the Doctor calculated that the Tardis must have turned his entire Gallifreyan medical library into a compendium for Martha to read. She had just absorbed enough information to qualify her for 3 human medical doctorates in their respective specialized fields and be at the top of those very fields.

"Apparently she's finished stabilizing and has moved on to integrating the various natural abilities, prioritizing at need." The Master said quietly.

"Oh, I've done a bit more than that mate." She said in a forbidding tone and proceeded to pick the Doctor up off of the floor on her own and dump him into bed. "Stay." She ordered, and he meekly obeyed, getting under the covers after kicking off his shoes.

"How long has it been since any of you have been to see a proper medical doctor with knowledge of your biology?" Martha asked threateningly as she loomed over them from the center of the room. The three men exchanged guilty glances.

"I got a check up about 128 years ago, while I was still with the Time Agency." Jack admitted guiltily. "I mostly make do with what's available or die to fix something that's really broken."

"Well you wont be doing that any more." Martha snapped, then turned on all three of them. "Dying and regenerating are no longer options for fixing something wrong with you medically, is that perfectly clear?"

"Yes, Martha." They all quickly agreed.

"Good." She said in satisfaction. "Bed rest for the next three days. We can watch a film on the wall later." With that she settled down to write her note to Tish. It was going to be an interesting 3 days confined to the same few rooms with the other three but neither she nor the Tardis was going to risk them getting into mischief until they had gotten at least _some_ rest and healing done after what had happened in the bond. Stubborn males.

* * *

**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	15. Tardis Post

**A/n:** How do you think they talked during those 3 days of isolation?

* * *

**_Tardis Post_ **

The Jones were just starting to really worry over the fact that they couldn't find Martha and the other three when the Tardis practically dropped Martha's note in Trish's lap drawing everyone's attention to it. When Tish saw exactly who it was from they decided to read it together, as a family. 

> _Dear Tish,_
> 
> _I'm sorry but the boys decided to do something utterly stupid. The Tardis and I decided that we need to keep them from doing themselves any more harm for a couple of days and that means that any communication that isn't by Tardis delivered letter isn't going to work or they'll find some way of using it to break out. I'm fine and so are they if a bit weak from what they tried to do. Its sad but also funny that the Doctor tried to run when the Master threatened to force him to watch both of their memories of the war. I put a stop to that but it makes me worry over just how much damage those memories might be doing, and not just to the Doctor but to the Master as well. One of the drawbacks from being a Time Lord is that the Time Lord mind is strong enough to kill with a bad enough nightmare. I don't think that they remember that its true of humans as well it just takes something truly horrific and believable for the human mind to shut down like that, humans have too many mental fail-safes in their, our, brains._
> 
> _Oh god, listen to me. I can't tell anymore if I should call myself human or Time Lord. I mean I know I'm still me, Martha, but its a bit confusing and the three of them aren't helping much with their own attempts to try and keep one another safe or help. I just finished reading up on Time Lord biology and I really just want to kill them after the stunt they pulled. So yeah, I know that the memories and nightmares represent a huge problem, one that could even kill them, but I've been having trouble just getting them to take a kip and rest for three days. Don't worry about wandering around the Tardis, she'll keep you safe and away from anything that might be dangerous to late 20th century humans, like her equivalent of an engine room. It helps knowing that you're all close by even if I can't really talk to you or let you help if I want to keep these idiots from doing something so utterly stupid, again._
> 
> _Can you try and keep Mum and the others from worrying? If something really goes wrong and I need your help the Tardis will make sure you can get to us. I have to go. Jack's started making paper balls and throwing them at the other two. The Doctor's just looking annoyed at being stuck in bed and the fact that Jack keeps hitting him with the paper balls he's aiming so carefully, and the Master is starting to look homicidal again. Time to put on another film or get the Doctor and the Master to argue over one of the times they fought. Its always interesting to find out what the two of them have done over the centuries. I suppose that I could get Jack to tell one of his stories but then the Doctor will start frowning an arguing with Jack over what he should and shouldn't have done. I suppose I could always stick a Carmel apple or some other sticky sweet in his mouth but then he's going to be hyper for a good six hours. Remind me to tell you how I found out about that one will you? Just a word of warning, unless we're in mortal danger or there's a way for the Doctor to burn off the sugar right off, don't give him candy or coffee or, god forbid, an energy drink! That man is hyper enough without adding in sugar or caffeine, much less one of those chemical concoctions they call energy drinks!_
> 
> _Don't worry to much and take care._
> 
> _~Martha~  
> _

While this note didn't put them completely at ease it did ease their minds a bit and allowed them not to worry overmuch. It also amused the Tardis to note that Francine Jones made everyone retreat to the group of rooms she had made up for them and stay there after reading the letter. That was fine. Her Thief an his pack needed the time alone together. The Tardis soon delivered another note from Martha which they all gathered around eagerly to read. After all they weren't quite sure how to write back yet.

> _Tish,_
> 
> _Something's been bothering me and I'm not sure who to ask about it. Maybe you'll know what to make of it Tish. While we were inside the bond and I was learning how to control my new mental abilities we ran across a fragment of someone who'd embedded himself inside the Master during the war, well sort of, and I had to fight him! He wanted us to bring back Gallifrey but that would have re-opened the war. The Tardis is part of the bond and told me what to say to make sure he could never come back once we got rid of him, this fragment. What really bothers me is that I don't entirely understand what I, I guess the best word would be invoked. Think you can help me figure it out? Just please don't tell mum!_
> 
> _I know that it was some sort of ritual wording that has power in their culture, possibly even so far as to be legally binding. I got the feeling from the Tardis that the words eternally bound the Doctor, the Master, Jack, me and the Tardis into protecting humans and earth. That it also removed them from the authority of the Time Lord people. Almost as if they had been labeled ambassadors and earth adopted them as part of the human race. My god, the words even called them a blood price! Can you believe that?_
> 
> _Here, I'll write it all out and you can go over it yourself._
> 
> _ In accordance with ancient Gallifreyan law set in time locked stone, infused with atron energy that even the untempered schism could not break. In accordance with the bloodline codes dating back to the first alpha, the first pilot, the first Tardis, to the beginning of the planetary pattern of the planet Gallifrey and with the blessing of time's essence and spirit. I claim The Doctor and The Master, the Tardis to which the Doctor is currently primary pilot, the Fixed Point Time Walker, and retain my own heritage as a human, binding and bound, the five of us to earth and humanity as a whole. As well as to continue to fulfill the obligations set upon both the Doctor and the Master when they were called as guardians of differing and balanced types to the very essence of the universe, meant to walk side by side but torn asunder by the early signs of the betrayal of the Time Lord race. This is the blood price, this is the forfeit. Do you dare challenge the claim? _
> 
> _The fragment, he went by the name of Rassilon, called me a traitor to the Time Lord race before I said all of this and after he said that he didn't recognize my right to even make the claim! The nutter. At least he's not attached to the Master anymore and we've gotten rid of that bloody signal that he embedded into the Master's mind. So that's something. Any help would be great!_
> 
> _Oh dear, I have to go, they've started arguing over morals and alien rights and why they did what they did over the centuries again. I'll have to stop them before it becomes a blood bath._
> 
> _~Martha~  
> _

The puzzel of the ritual words worried the Jones but it also kept them occupied for a good long while, until they were so exhausted that they had to take a kip themselves. Tish however had an idea and tried it before going to bed. She wrote up a quick note from a pad of paper and pen in her purse and left it on the table, face down to see if the Tardis would deliver it while they were asleep.

> _Martha,_
> 
> _I couldn't keep it from Mum, sorry. No way around it, but we all took a look and we're not quite sure what it means either. I'm leaving this on the coffee table while we all have a kip. I'm hoping that the Tardis will deliver this to you like you said she might. Everyone's having trouble getting used to the idea that you aren't human any more and that this place is alive! I believe you though. I've seen some weird things happen while we've been here. I hope mum doesn't notice them or she wont ever let you back here again. I think that this Tardis of yours has a sense of humor and keeps hiding little things, like a little kid playing keep away from the grown ups. But if this keeps up for to much longer Mum, Dad, and Leo will catch on and might even try to do a runner. I think Mum plans on slapping that Doctor of yours once you all come back, she's in a right state over all of this. Try to come back out soon. Okay?_
> 
> _~Tish~  
> _

Martha sat back at her desk and looked at her sleeping pack mates after reading Tish's message. She wasn't really surprised at her family's reaction but she wouldn't be leaving the Tardis with them. She would stay with these impossible men and see what trouble they could get into. With a small smile Martha penned a reply, leaving it on the desk for the Tardis to deliver, and went to bed.

> _Tish,_
> 
> _No matter how much Mum rants and raves I'm not coming home with you. I'll always love you and you'll always be my family but I don't belong in the slow lane of the time stream anymore. I belong here, on the Tardis, making sure these daft fools don't go around getting themselves killed. She'll just have to accept that this is my choice and its something that she can't change. I know the risks but I also know how to take care of myself. I'm not a human child anymore, and these three need someone to keep them in check or we might loose them, if not to death than to madness. They've all been fighting it for a very long time. I intend to keep them from it just a little bit longer if I can, and if I can't then I don't know anyone else who could deal with them. If I need help then I'll ask but these boys are my responsibility as much as I am theirs. Take care, and I love you._
> 
> _~Martha~  
> _

* * *

**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	16. Transfer of Ownership

**A/n:** Just how badly did the Time Lords handle dealing with the Doctor and the Master?

* * *

**_Transfer of Ownership_ **

It wasn't all that long after Martha had finished her return note to Tish when part of the Tardis' bonding gift started to kick in. The pack had also gained some extra benefits due to the fact that the Tardis was an equal member of the bond thanks to the fact of Jack's recent death and resurrection had prematurely triggered the bond activation. Not that anyone had really noticed anything until the Tardis' bonding gift started kicking in, except for perhaps the Tardis herself...

"Jack? Did you use up all of the Limerik soap?" The Doctor called from the bathroom.

"Nope! I couldn't find it either." Jack called back.

Somehow he'd managed to convince the Tardis to expand their living room/bedroom and add some comfy chairs to sit in. The Doctor was the one who'd managed to finagle the bookcases filled with a wide range of subjects. The Master on the other hand was still trying to convince the Tardis that it was safe to provide them with a small work station for her Time Lords at least to tinker with some small electronics on. Martha had absolutely refused to ask on their behalf for another two days at the least. She and the Tardis were still determined that the men wouldn't have a chance of escaping the enforced rest period.

"What is Limerik soap anyway?" Martha asked with a wrinkled nose at some of the images that the name caused to appear in her mind.

Jack and the Master exchanged a quick glance before Jack answered with a "You don't want to know, but if you have a choice between using Limerik soap and an earth pumice stone, use the pumice stone."

She just stared at the men before shaking her head and saying. "I don't want to know." Before turning back to the medical text that was in her hands.

"You know we never discussed what exactly that weird ritual thing that Martha said in the bond was." Jack said casually causing the Master's head to snap up to stare at him. Not to mention the fact that all three of them could hear when the Doctor slipped and fell in the shower, drawing a sympathetic wince from them all.

"I've been wondering the exact same thing." Martha said significantly as she shared a look with Jack. "The Tardis is the one who fed me the words. I didn't really understand them and my family couldn't figure it out either from what I understood of Tish's return note." This last statement caused the Master to stiffen in his seat, and another clearly heard *Thump!* at another slip of the Doctor's footing in the shower.

"Doctor! Finish up." The Master called grimly. "It appears our rest period is up." 

The Master leaned back in his chair and propped his fingers in a peak before him as he regarded both his current mate and his half-human daughter. They all waited on the Doctor to join them as he reluctantly obeyed and finished up his shower before joining them. The door to the bathroom opened to reveal a fully clothed if still slightly damp, Doctor, who tried to casually stroll to his customary seat next to the Master but was betrayed by his own nervous energy before he sat down.

"Spill." Jack ordered, causing the two elder Time Lords to exchange meaningful glances.

"Jack, it isn't that easy." The Doctor warned.

"Don't care." Jack told him with a flat stare. "You'll explain it in a way that we can both understand, we're both part of whatever it is now and if we're going to need to defend ourselves we'll need to know how and from what." 

This caused the Doctor to slump resignedly before straightening again and starting to explain. "What Martha invoked is very old and binding to the point that if we try to break it we could rip apart time." He said as he carefully watched their faces. "It also proved that the rest of our people did something to our friendship when we were young. Martha, you said that both the Master and I were called as guardians of differing and balanced types, meant to walk side by side. I've met and fought against two such guardians before. The Black Guardian and the White Guardian. If the Master and I were to be guardians and walk side by side then many things about our past now make more sense, including why we started fighting with more than just words." The Doctor sent a quick glance at the Master who appeared to be brooding over the situation and the explanation that the Doctor was providing.

"There's more to it than that." Jack said pointedly and at the Doctor's look he asked. "What are you guardians of and why would you need to ^walk side by side^?"

"That's a good question." The Master said quietly. "Time would be obvious. Balance would also work but we both occasionally create, preserve, and destroy depending. Chaos and order are unlikely but possible. I would likely be order and the Doctor chaos. The problem with elevating a mortal of any species of any kind to the status of guardian is that they have aspects of all possible base elements and qualities, no matter how small the amount. Whether the chosen mortal embodies the specific guardianship enough to warrant such an elevation is difficult to tell before the process begins because it normally must start during early childhood before any such major aspects would become even remotely set."

"What about just being universal protectors?" Jack suggested. "You're main jobs would probably be to protect life where you could and repair any damage to Time and Reality that you found. What if they also took such drastic measures when changing the two of you because they want the guardianship to pass down to your children? Its not unheard of in the stories and such that I've come across over the years." This idea caused the two to exchange surprised glances and to seriously consider what Jack had just suggested.

"But that would mean that..." The Doctor said slowly as he came to a very real and rather unsettling realization. "Oh dear." He said softly.

"It was just a suggestion." Martha told him comfortingly. "It doesn't make it real. Look, we can pick over the wording of what I said piece by piece. See what it really says and means, yeah?"

"I think that's an excellent suggestion, my dear." The Master told them briskly. "Why don't you write it down and get us all something to make notes on?" Martha nodded and got the writing supplies from her desk. The Tardis hadn't allowed anyone else to have a desk or into the desk for that matter either. She wrote out the words once more.

> _**In accordance with ancient Gallifreyan law set in time locked stone, infused with atron energy that even the untempered schism could not break.** _
> 
> _**In accordance with the bloodline codes dating back to the first alpha, the first pilot, the first Tardis, to the beginning of the planetary pattern of the planet Gallifrey and with the blessing of time's essence and spirit.** _
> 
> _**I claim The Doctor and The Master, the Tardis to which the Doctor is currently primary pilot, the Fixed Point Time Walker, and retain my own heritage as a human, binding and bound, the five of us to earth and humanity as a whole.** _
> 
> _**This is the blood price, this is the forfeit. Do you dare challenge the claim?** _

Martha handed each of them a copy and when the Doctor saw what had been said written in black and white, sitting in front of him he murmured. "I was afraid of that."

"Yes, it is worrisome." The Master agreed.

"Wanna tell us?" Jack asked with his eyebrows raised at the oblivious men.

"If nothing else this indelibly links the Human race with Time Lords." The Master said with a frown. "Oh goody, we're stuck protecting the stupid apes in addition to whatever guardianship duties we already have that we know nothing about."

"Martha did accept our claim on her and claimed us back." The Doctor offered helpfully. "That certainly cements the bond beyond just about anything that might risk breaking it."

"Alright, so we wont be getting anything useful out of them for a bit." Jack admitted in fond exasperation. "Why don't we work on it together?"

"Sure." Martha agreed.

"I wonder who the Fixed Point Time Walker is?" Jack asked with a frown creasing his brow.

"Its you, freak." The Master retorted before turning back to his discussion with the Doctor. "You see here. Martha also retained her connection with her humanity but not necessarily with her original human family. She also claimed the Tardis specifically. Why would she need to do that?"

"From the feeling I got from the old girl when Jack died just before the bond activated she was going to wait until we were done with the _Rising Sleep_ as is proper but Jack dying triggered it early. I think... I think that the Tardis is a full member in the bond." The Doctor admitted.

The shocked simultaneous "What?"s weren't entirely unexpected but they still made the Doctor wince and flinch back from the onslaught.

"You would go and muck up something so simple." The Master shook his head in disgust and received an indignant "Oi!" in response.

"Ookay, moving on. What do the words mean when they reference the betrayal of the Time Lord race?" Jack asked trying to distract everyone. He regretted his subject change choice almost immediately as both elder Time Lords got very quiet.

"Our failure and fall in regards to the Time War." The Doctor said in a quietly, pained voice. "The war would never have needed to happen in the first place if I had been able to bring myself to wipe out the Daleks before their conception as I had been ordered to by the High Council. Instead I let them live and thought to myself that such an action was going to far. I thought that they should have a chance to prove themselves as something more. Instead as a result through them I have been the cause of countless deaths on top of the other blood that I have spilled. I gave them a chance and they took it." He admitted bitterly to his stunned audience.

"They... they ordered you to commit genocide?" Martha asked faintly, and the Doctor nodded, shoulders slumped, eyes downcast.

"Oh Theta..." The Master breathed. " Those Bastards! No wonder you ran. No wonder you've been fighting like a wounded animal since I first caught up with you after you left. If I could go back and slaughter them for you I would."

"Don't! Just don't." The Doctor told him firmly. 

"But.." The Master trailed off at the look the Doctor gave him.

"I didn't want to leave the first time but I didn't have much choice. I barely had a chance to collect Susan before we had to run. How do you think I picked out the Tardis or rather how she picked me?" He told him gently. "I remember enough of the night we left to know that something had happened that put Susan at risk for a memory adjustment and that they would kill me. No regenerating. Beyond that I'm afraid something must have happened to affect my memory. I know that I had decided you would get little if any of the fallout and were safe. We also weren't on speaking terms so I'm not sure if you would have come had I tried to get you to run with us. I don't remember much else, not even why we started fighting." The wry sad smile on the Doctors face showed the sincerity of his words.

The Master growled and stood, startling the others, as he stalked over to the Doctor. Jack and Martha were frozen in place by the Doctor's earlier warning about Time Lord instincts and the Doctor's own shocked wide eyed stare. He dragged the Doctor unresistingly up out of his char by his suit jacket and wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling his neck where he had bitten the other Time Lord less than a week ago. The Doctor's shocked, tense body stance eased as the Master only continued to hold him and nuzzle at the bite mark which now held a silvery sheen just under the gloss-like coating. The Doctor tilted his head, giving the Master more access to his neck and the pack mark as he relaxed into the other man's grip, accepting the offered comfort. Jack and Martha exchanged glances before getting up themselves and turning it into a group hug with the Doctor at the center. The Doctor's tension eased even further under the combined human and Gallifrean comforting techniques and he practically melted in their arms, barely biting back a sob. They had their Doctor and they were going to do their best to help heal him.

* * *

 **A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	17. Order of Champions

**_Order of Champions_ **

As they broke apart from their impromptu hugging session something occured to Jack. The others noticed his odd expression as he moved back to his own copy of the invocation and stared at it.

"Jack?" The Doctor asked softly.

"Something isn't right about this." Jack told them abruptly. "This binding us to earth and humanity bit. I get the feeling it isn't just requiring us to keep watch over them and protect both earth and humanity as a whole, even if that's what it says. What if as guardians you need a support base? Maybe even one that's as large as an entire species? Rather like how there tend to be more support personnel then actual soldiers, if you count everyone involved with keeping a military unit much less an army up and running at peak efficentcy. What if the fact that you two are Time Lords isn't a coincidence? What if whoever or whatever chooses the guardians was trying to bring the Time Lords back into the fold? You've told me yourself Doc, the Time Lords retreated from the universe and established a non-interferance policy. What if that's what pushed them into trying for Time Lord guardians? They would have had to wait a while to make certain that the standards would hold up and weren't just something that would pass in a few centuries or generations but..."

The looks of complete shock that were pasted across their faces when Jack turned around as he trailed off confirmed his suspicion. They hadn't even thought of the possibility that they were a rescue attempt, a failed one but a rescue attempt none-the-less.

"They wanted us gone so badly," The Doctor murmured. "but we hadn't done anything bad enough for all traces of us, even our children to be wiped out."

"They would have had to destroy all traces of both Omega and Rassilon, our people's greatest heroes had they ruled that the two of us were to be destroyed." The Master agreed. "Even wipe what last DNA traces are left of them from the Matrix. The High Council would never agree to it and if the people of Gallifrey ever discovered it literally the entire government would have been slaughtered enmass."

"Of course, our human heritage." The Doctor turned to them excitedly. "It would have been the only way for them to establish guardians on Gallifrey! We had to have a human bloodline! How many champions have come from earth over the centuries or had ancestors that dated back to earth? Almost always there was a link to earth and humanity within this galatic cluster once a spacefaring species had strayed to far. If it wasn't a human it was human influence that brought them back onto the right path, the more sensible path of just living, Or it destroyed them because they posed to much of a threat. Oh, you could have a champion without human influence of one type or another but they always tend toward the boring and more brawn than brain. Humans and those who have been around humans, those champions always find clever ways of sorting out the mess, or inspiring a way out. For us there was just to much tradition and atron energy invested into the Time Lord people, a more random factor had to be introduced. What species is more random yet as good or better at survival than humans?"

"Well that's certainly one theory." The Master observed with a bit of surprise.

The Doctor's face fell. "You don't believe me." He said, disappointed.

"You're logic could use a bit of tweaking but the basic theory is sound enough, I suppose." The Master conceded. "I suspect that you're right that humans have been used as a genetic randomizer by more than one over-powered idiot trying to manipulate time or destiny but I very much doubt that they are as important as you've just made them out to be. I suggest you review your own statement and re-consider its ramifications."

The Doctor thought back over what he had just verbally tossed at them at high speed and started to blush. "I'm sorry." He blurted out. "I didn't quite think that through. Its a bit daft innit? Humans being tossed all over the place just to make certain that events happen like they should or to change a certain string of events? I mean, well you are brilliant but there's a limit to what any species can do."

"I suspect that the part of your theory which involved why our people were so stringent in dealing with bloodline purity is correct, aside from our general arrogance and pompous attitudes." The Master told him consideringly. "They certainly would have had Martha killed."

"No one is killing Martha." The Doctor's complete shift in his tone of voice and stance was the only warning the other three got. They weren't just facing the Doctor, they were facing the Oncoming Storm of Dalek legend.

The Master's own eyes glittered in a similar fury. "Did I say we would give them the chance? Had that fragment of Rassilon been any more complete or coherent he would have tried to destroy her within the bond its self and damn the consequences." The Master responded coldly.

Jack decided that the discussion was getting a bit to heated, and in the wrong direction, for his liking so he stepped straight up to the Doctor and kissed him. Surprising both male Time Lords and earning a giggle from Martha over how he'd diffused the situation.

The Doctor stumbled backward from the unexpected kiss, wide eyed and glancing nervously at the Master who was looking more intrigued than homicidal. "Jack? Wha..what are you doing? You're mated to the Master!" He stammered.

"Yup, and we left more than enough room to add you to the mating bond." Jack agreed. "Or did you forget already that we only mated first to make it safer for you? If it takes us a thousand years we will court you and accept your decision but we both want you in the bond." 

The Master had stepped up behind Jack in support and nodded firmly, just before he said softly. "I've been trying to court you since we were in school Theta. Please don't try to run away again. This time I'm not going to let you and I don't think that our Captain here will either." 

None of them noticed Martha quietly slipping into the kitchenett with a few medical texts or the fact that the door to said kitchenett melted away a few seconds later. The boys would need their private time after all...

* * *

**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	18. Stubborn Relations

**_Stubborn Relations_ **

Martha wasn't entirely surprised to notice that the Tardis had separated the kitchenette from the rest of the suite but she was a tad surprised to find that the new door now led to her own family's suite instead. To say that the Jones family was surprised to see their wayward daughter was a bit of an understatement but Martha could immediately see their worry easing as she strolled into the main room.

"So then, its done is it?" Francine asked stoically.

"If you mean are they done being daft? I doubt it." Martha told her mother happily, still thinking on the scene she had just left. Then she heard something out of her mother's mouth that completely spoiled her good mood.

"Well, get your things. We're leaving." Francine ordered.

Martha started to rub her forehead trying to stave off a migraine. "Mum, that's just not an option anymore. I thought we'd already explained?"

"Oh you explained alright and so did that note you sent to your sister." Francine said stoically. "You're coming home."

"No, Mum, I'm not. _This_ is my home now." Martha told her as she extended an arm and gestured at the surrounding Tardis.

"He's dangerous! They're all dangerous. I'll not have my daughter..." Francine started in.

"No! You don't understand and from the way you're acting you may never understand." Martha cut her off. "You have no idea what they've lived through. Its a wonder that they aren't dead or insane. All three of them are actually still functional despite the fact that they've been in countless wars and battles. Mum, they haven't just been in battle, they've won those battles most of the time but the cost to them..." Martha just shook her head.

"I know this bloke, he's alright but he did wind up in a gang war for a bit." Leo offered hesitantly. "He was only in the area for a few months before we managed to get him somewhere safer, away from all the gangs but... He still wont sleep without a knife under his pillow and a cricket bat under his bed. He wont stay near a window for long unless he's watching out of it for something, I'm not sure what. If he hears a noise that's to close to something that would have got him hurt when he was still around the gangs he flinches."

"PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome." Martha diagnosed. "I don't know how my three have gotten away with being in and out of wars for so many years, centuries even, without developing more of it then they've got. Your friend needs treatment, he's got a severe case of it. It used to be called shell shock not that long ago. The body and the mind get so attuned to the dangers of a traumatic situation that your survival instincts go into overdrive, anything that might have hurt you, any hint at all, any warning you react to. Its how you stay alive but it takes a toll on both the body and the mind and you can't always shut it off once you're safe. Any traumatic event can cause PTSD but its quite common in soldiers home from the battle field. Which is what happened to your friend and to my three. He'll need an anchor, someone to rely on and help him orient if nothing else. Try to get any of his mates out of that area as well. They'll need treatment, if your friend is anything to go by."

"Thanks, Martha." Leo said offering her a hesitant smile.

Martha turned back to her mother. "Mum, whatever you think this is, its not. When they saved me I was changed. I'm a Time Lord now and literally their daughter. If you check my DNA you'll find traces of both the Doctor's DNA and the Master's. As far as any geneticist would be concerned I have four parents. You, Dad, the Doctor, and the Master. You raised me the best you could and I was a human adult before I changed, now I'm a child again. A Gallifreyan child, a Time Lord child, and I need to learn what I need to stay safe. My entire biology has changed and if I eat the wrong thing or take the wrong medi without first learning from the Doctor and the Master then I could die. I have new resistances and new dangers that I know nothing about." Martha informed her mother. "For example growing up, was I ever allergic to aspirin?"

"No, of course not. I would never have given it to you had you been." Francine said offended by such a question.

"Well I might be now." Martha told her in exasperation. "And my reaction to the aspirin would be almost instantly deadly if I inherited it from the Doctor. He's allergic."

The shocked silence that followed this statement put a very fine point on what Martha had been trying to tell them. She wasn't just Martha Jones any more, she was Martha Jones, half human daughter of the Doctor and the Master, and there was no way around it.

* * *

 **A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	19. Explosive Distractions

**A/n:** After further consideration its too early to introduce a smut scene for consideration with all of the angst that's been tossed around. We need to work more of it out first. For those of you who were looking forward to it, I'm sorry, you'll have to wait a bit longer. I will make certain that the section is marked so that you can skip down over it should you choose to. If it gets written then it gets written, if not then it will be as a separate ficlet in the series. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**_Explosive Distractions_ **

The silence that stretched across the room after Martha's declaration was shattered by a minor explosion from the direction of the sealed suite that currently held one immortal and two Time Lords. This sent Martha running toward the sound of the explosion leaving her startled human family behind as the Tardis sealed them into their own suite to try and help keep them safe. Martha never noticed the lack of shouts for her to stop heading toward the apparent danger, her only thought was to help her new family. When she arrived she sent a greatful wave to the Tardis as she found that the ship had thought to open the door to the suite to the rest of the ship, giving Martha free and easy access. The room was billowing acrid smoke but what worried Martha more was that she couldn't hear anything to indicate that there might be someone inside.

"Doctor? Master? Jack?" Martha called in worry, she couldn't feel much from the bond except the Tardis' attempt to sooth and calm her. Then she heard something very faintly, a groan. "Jack?! Doctor?! Master?! Don't worry. I'm coming!" She called.

Martha looked around her for something to cover her nose and mouth so that she'd breath as little of the smoke as possible and not seeing anything she quickly tore her sleeves off of her shirt and fashioned them into a mask that covered her nose and mouth, heading straight into the smoke. Her eyes burned but she forced them to stay open and looked frantically for the three men. What she found made her issue a groan of her own. Both Time Lords were out cold and Jack appeared to be semi-conscious but dying with a shards of metal having blown clear through his mid-section, clearly shredding it. Martha quickly checked them for any injuries that might be aggravated when she tried to move them. The Doctor had a broken collar bone and a fractured shoulder blade along with a good knock on the head which might turn into a concussion. The Master had gotten away with only a knock to the head and a quickly forming bruise near his temple and getting trapped under a section of the wall. Jack was another matter altogether, he too had clearly been thrown to the ground by the explosion but the metal shards from whatever had caused it had blown clean through his belly and taken a good chunk of his insides with it. Martha knew from the amount of blood that she'd never get him to the infirmary in time to keep him from dying even if he'd been the only one hurt. From the look of it a shard of metal had also embedded itself near his heart causing even more damage.

"Jack, I can't do anything for you. I didn't get here in time and there's too much damage. I'm going to get these two out first and come back for you after. Okay?" Martha told him through the muffle of her improvised air filter as she busily did her best to splint the Doctor's shoulder in preparation for moving him. 

Jack made a weak attempt at indicating assent. He understood and agreed with her decision. She had managed to get the Doctor to safety in the hall and was working on freeing the trapped Master when Jack finally died. The shock that reverberated through the bond briefly brought both elder Time Lords around. The Doctor immediately tried to use his arm with the splinted shoulder to try and getup and passed out from the pain. The Master on the other hand managed to help un-bury himself and get Jack's body out of the ruined room. Martha just knew that there was going to be a long family talk in their future. The Tardis was busy repairing the damage as Martha and the Master moved both Jack and the Doctor to another room so that the Doctor could be treated and they could wait on Jack to come back. 

"I'm going to take this ship apart until I find what caused that." The Master growled.

" _After_ we've put these two back together and you've been seen to." Martha said sternly, she was not going to let her pack kill themselves over something so trivial. They could always find the cause after healing, if they'd let her heal them that is...

* * *

 **A/n:** Yes, I'm mean. I interrupted their moment together.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	20. Aftermath

**A/n:** The Master's control has been pushed to the limit and just beyond in such a short time. Lets see if he's regained enough control of his instincts to keep from outright killing someone he doesn't really want to kill, shall we?

* * *

**_Aftermath_ **

The Master quickly glanced over the Doctor and Jack, noting that the Doctor had sustained far fewer injuries than some of the things he had done to his old friend over the years and that Jack was dead so wasn't a medical concern at the moment. "No." He practically snarled. "I'm not waiting."

"Yes, you are." Martha ordered as she ripped the improvised facial mask from her and practically forced him onto the third bed. "You've got a nasty bump on the head and clearly aren't thinking straight. I don't want to make it worse by giving you something or hitting you over the head to keep you put. I still don't know how much of a beating a Time Lord can take and just walk away from." 

"Heal them, I'll deal with the threat." He retorted.

"What threat? Something exploded, we weren't attacked!" She asked in exasperation, that's when she noticed how dilated the Master's eyes had become and the fact that the pupils had changed from a circular form to slits. She thought [Oh, shit!] and switched tactics. "If you leave the room then whatever it is can find another way in. The Doctor's out cold, and Jack's dead until he comes back. Stay here and let me do something about your wounds while I treat their injuries. Please? It will help if you have to fight anything." 

Then Martha remembered about how he'd picked up on some sort of scent that the Doctor had left on her and decided to stop suppressing as much of her own fear. Maybe the scent of her fear would keep him from running off until he was more himself again. Possibly kick in some of his protective instincts in such a way that he would feel the need to guard them instead of going out to hunt the danger down before it struck again. It was a risky move, especially with her human family on board but it might keep him from killing them on accident. Her mum would never forgive her or the Master if one of the Jones clan got killed like this. It was the worst possible moment for one of the Jones to show up, so of course that's exactly what happened.

"Martha? MARTHA!" Martha groaned as she recognized Francine calling out for her.

"Martha!" That was Leo!

"MAr..*cough*.tHA!" Trish.

The Master growled. The child was _HIS_ , his and his second's. He would not part with her or the rest of his pack. 

Any hope that Martha had of keeping the Master put long enough to treat him and draw him back into a more rational state of mind was lost. Martha couldn't keep holding the Master back from leaving, she had to treat the Doctor but if she let him go then her human family would likely die.

 

"Stay back!" Martha called out to the Jones' "I don't know how long I can keep him from coming out there!"

"Martha!" Francine called as she rounded a corner coming into sight of the room where her daughter was holding back a Time Lord on the verge of loosing all control.

"I said STAY BACK! It isn't safe." Martha told them over her shoulder paying more attention to the Master then the Jones clan, who had the Master's undivided, predatory attention.

"Martha, come away from there." Francine told her as she eyed the Master right back but more as wary prey might eye a nearby predator.

Just as it was clear the Master was going to make a lunge for the slowly approaching Jones', energy and life flooded the bond and Jack glowed just before gasping back into life as he quickly began to heal the damage to his body. He grunted in pain as he ripped the remaining metallic shards from where they had become embedded in his rapidly healing flesh and took the situation in with a glance.

"Master! They aren't a threat. Something else happened and you need to calm down. You're hurt and not thinking straight, let Martha treat you and the Doctor." He snapped at his mate, then gentled his tone a bit. "We're fine, we're safe. A bit banged up but safe."

Jack used the bond to send soothing waves of well-being but alertness to his current mate, trying to reduce whatever the Time Lord equivalent of adrenaline was to a more manageable level; Moving the Master from aggressive defense to a sort of sentry standby, alert and aware, ready to attack but less likely to do so without an immediate threat. The Master recognized what Jack was trying to do and allowed it to sooth his instincts as he began to realize just how much he'd overreacted. With a slight growl toward the Jones clan he relaxed a bit and nodded before quickly taking advantage of Martha's own slight relaxation and shoving her toward the Doctor, as he placed himself between the still cautiously advancing Jones' and the rest of his pack.

"You were dead. That isn't safe. My second is injured and the only reason the Child is unharmed is that she was not in the room with us." The Master growled out almost softly.

"Feeling a bit more like yourself?" Martha asked almost cheekily but she was clearly still filled with tension caused by worry over both her families.

"The only reason the humans aren't dead." The Master agreed causing her to droop in relief, as she moved to re-examine and work on the Doctor, trusting that the Master now had enough control not to attack her human family.

"Bloody fool!" Martha's out-burst seemed to draw everyone but the Master's complete attention. "He tried to get up using the fractured shoulder blade and ignored the broken collar bone. Idiot. No wonder he passed out again after coming 'round when Jack died."

Jack had watched the byplay out of the corner of his eye as he examined the metal shards that he'd yanked from his own wounds, since Martha hadn't had a chance to remove them before he woke up. "Master? Did you happen to leave the Tardis' door open when you were building the paradox machine and forget to close it at some point?" He asked carefully.

"Maybe. I don't really remember." The Master answered as he continued to eye the now still Jones' clan.

"Doesn't the Tardis randomly shift the rooms which aren't in regular use around so that they get at least _some_ use?" Jack asked as he looked up from the shards.

"Usually a tardis would do that or consign it to a sort of storage until it was needed." He agreed.

Jack held up the largest shard which had a barely legible and incomplete brand name on it. "I think that someone snuck in and that the room we were using was the closest bedroom to the console room at the time because this is definitely a homemade explosive for this century. I doubt that the Tardis has ever had to try and identify or disarm a bomb that was made in this time period. Most of the time the Doctor gets people angry at him who are either more advanced or more primitive than late 20th century/early 21st century earth while he travels, often more advanced. Either way he's got this habit of always making certain that the door is closed after coming into or leaving the Tardis and there isn't much that can get in when the Tardis or the Doctor doesn't want it to." He reminded the Master solemnly.

The Master gave the Jones clan a cold look and ordered. "Out."

"What?" Francine sputtered. "You dare..."

"OUT! I'll not have your species threaten my family again!" The Master nearly shouted. "The only reason we're leaving instead of me destroying your species and planet is because it would upset them." He jerked his head toward Martha, Jack, and the Doctor.

"But..." Martha protested almost helplessly as she looked between her two families. She'd finished tending to the Doctor the best she could and had hoped she could stop this confrontation from turning out worse than it already was. The Tardis sent her soothing and comforting waves to combat her feeling of helplessness as well as a silent promise to make sure Martha's humans left the Tardis safely. The door to the console room appeared in the wall next to the Jones family just as Francine was drawing herself up to argue back. Clive grabbed his ex-wife and nodded at the Master before dragging her bodily through the console room and out of the Tardis with Tish and Leo reluctantly following them as they continued to glance back toward Martha.

"That was a bit harsh, it was only a little bomb." The Doctor rasped from his prone position on the bed.

Martha sighed and then explained. "His eyes have changed. He's got slit pupils at the moment and I think I see some sort of claws trying to push out under his finger nails but that could be some of the smoke I inhaled despite the mask I made from my shirt."

"Oh... then we definitely need to keep him away from anyone who might attack the rest of us or even seem like it." The Doctor sighed. "From the feel of my shoulder there's more damage than before and I wasn't exactly thinking straight when Jack died. Jack? Do you think he'll let either you or Martha near the door to the outside of the Tardis?"

Jack eyed the Master doubtfully. "I don't think so, doc."

"Pity, those UNIT pack members would come in rather handy about now." The Doctor mused.

"Doctor." The Master growled warningly.

"Exactly how long have you been awake?" Martha asked suspiciously.

"Long enough that I'd rather not be chewed out again." The Doctor winced in both pain and memory.

"And you didn't say a word when he was tossing out my mum? My family?" Martha demanded.

"Would you rather he go deeper into his instincts? Like he did in his suite on the Valiant?" The Doctor asked calmly. "Besides we still haven't figured out what to do about his wife."

"She either accepts an immediate divorce or she dies." The Master said shortly clearly regaining more of himself in that short mention of his human wife then he had been able to in the whole half hour between the explosion and Martha's comment about her mother and the rest of her family being tossed out of the Tardis.

"Feeling a bit better are we?" The Doctor asked kindly only to receive a chilly glare from the Master. "Well, would one of you help me up? We have a divorce to arrange and some preliminary pack members to settle."

The Master sighed and relaxed his stance a bit before informing them. "Stay put. I'll go and fetch the boneknitter and dermal regen kit from the infirmary. Martha, we'll need to take a scan of your lungs later as that wasn't exactly normal smoke. You can learn how to use the equipment later. Unless the Doctor has tossed it, the manuals should be somewhere in one of the libraries."

With that he turned on his heel and headed for the infirmary reluctantly leaving behind his pack to fetch the medical supplies they needed. It didn't take him long to find where the infirmary had gotten to but it did take him a good 15 minutes to find everything they needed. The Doctor could be such a pack rat at times but when it came to medical, better to be over prepared than under prepared. It took a good 3 hours for the Master to put everything to rights with both Martha and the Doctor before he reluctantly allowed the two of them to examine him properly in their own turn. His own treatment took an additional hour, since the Doctor had miraculously missed gaining yet another concussion but the Master had not missed out, to his own disgust. 

They wouldn't let the Master leave the Tardis until he'd calmed down more and he wasn't willing to let them leave the Tardis without him, leaving them all in a bit of a stalemate for a good three hours. By the time that both sides were willing to allow the other outside of the Tardis it was around 6 pm local time and they found a welcoming committee practically sitting on their doorstep which the Tardis had been steadfastly ignoring since their arrival soon after the Jones had departed...

* * *

**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	21. The Committee

**A/n:** The Mating bond between the Master and Jack is in place but hasn't been cemented/consummated yet. I wonder how frustrated Jack is? I wonder how Lucy is feeling about all of this, And what exactly is with the welcoming committee? And you can thank my complete inability to conquer the Halo games as well as watching Skyfall online Friday night for most of the corrected combat descriptions...

* * *

**_The Committee_ **

The doors to the Tardis shot open and the Jones clan stumbled out before slamming shut behind them, startling the spare UNIT sentries who where standing guard over the Tardis. Clive let go of Francine only to receive a sharp slap across the face.

"How could you? Martha's still in there. He's dangerous. All three of them are dangerous! You saw it yourself." Francine started in on her ex.

"What I saw was a man protecting our daughter from a possible threat after receiving a clearly bad blow to the head and fighting himself not to hurt us without more proof that we were actually a threat." Clive glared at her. "I may not be willing to keep arguing with you over every little thing but I know one thing, our daughter clearly knows more about the situation than we do and he was trying to protect her! How many times have you done that rather than criticizing her or one of the rest of us?"

"Well if you wont help me protect her then I'll find someone who will." Francine snapped at him before storming out of the room and the rest of the family followed her trying to talk her out of making a fuss. This caused the two unnoticed sentries to exchange worried glances. There was enough trouble over this mess as it was.

"I'll call it in." The first sentry softly told his companion who nodded grimly in response.

It wasn't long before they had to start facing down people who wanted a word with the Time Lords and both men were glad that they had called in the group who had been pre-emptively re-assigned as the Doctor's and the pack's security by the Master. Unfortunately someone really wanted a word with those inside the Tardis and wasn't scrupulous about how it happened. As a result by the time the small group left the Tardis all 8 men along with the two sentries had been either killed or knocked out and stashed somewhere but none of them went quietly or easily. Fireball Mc'Cal was the first to fall and barely managed to avoid the throat slash that would have killed him. He missed the fact that the only other soldier in the hallway had pulled his gun not to help but to harm until the gun-butt was applied to the back of his skull. Apparently they didn't want old Fireball to set off one of his trademark explosions even if he did manage to kill his first opponent just as he went down himself. Smith was another that got blindsided along with Mic on their way to the room the Tardis was stored in. They were jumped by 5 men and only an unlucky strike to Smith's jaw, along with a silenced bullet clip to Mic's temple took them out. A knife to the chest or back didn't stop Tom, much less Miguire, and the last 3 from the advance unit from taking their assailants with them. All it took was a skillful shot to the hanger bay controls triggering an emergency door release, rapidly and violently decompressing the chamber at such a high altitude. The two other UNIT soldiers who had arrived to take up sentry duty on the Tardis were tricked out of the room and killed. As a result it was possible for a group of unknown officers from different countries, several business men, and a number of bureaucrats to be waiting outside of the Tardis when they emerged.

After a few minutes of both groups eyeing each other... "Well? What do you want?" The Master snapped at the group even as he noted that the adopted UNIT soldiers were missing as well as the two extra who had been helping that the Doctor had cleared against the Master's better judgement.

"Some of us have a proposition for you and your friends Mr. Saxon." One of the businessmen noted. "I'm certain that we can come to some sort of arrangement. Why don't you join us for supper? Your wife is already waiting, safely, with several of my men. A pity she's fully human."

"Its always something with you two. Why can't we have a visit or a trip that's just a simple day out?" Jack sighed.

"Now Jack, there's no reason not to at least hear them out." The Doctor admonished. "And we did needed to talk to her anyway. Where did those UNIT chaps get to? I need to have a word with them." The Doctor asked as he looked around hoping that one of them were in the room.

"I'm afraid that they've been detained, Sir Doctor." Another man, a bureaucrat this time interjected smoothly. Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to order them killed but at least they still had three of them to bargain with.

Before they could move or say anything more a nondescript officer of some sort to one side of the group raised a gun he had palmed and pointed it at the Master. "I don't believe that would be wise. You sir are a threat. Would the rest of you please move away from him? I wouldn't want to hit you by mistake." The rest of the group was eyeing him and his gun warily.

"It kept the drums quiet and satisfied, besides a simple gun shot wont kill me." The Master retorted.

"It will if it explodes into shrapnel in your chest. It tends to be rather difficult to survive when you have shredded internal organs. Especially since you don't appear to be much more resistant to bullets than a human and these rounds have been known to cut a human in half." The unknown officer pointed out.

"No." Jack said coldly as he stepped bodily in front of the Master.

"He's right you know, bullets are a bit rubbish against us." The Doctor pointed out as he slipped slightly in front of the Master as well.

"Why did you move in front of me? Do you have any idea the amount of pain shoots down the bond when you die? I think I'd rather be shot than have you get shot in my place." The Master grimaced. "Move out of the way, Freak. Doctor if you take one more step in front of me I wont disband one of my more radical fail-safes."

This caused both men to freeze and glance both at each other and the Master before they reluctantly obeyed.

"I didn't feel much from the bond when Jack died." Martha commented.

"While we were _resting_ The Master and I put certain safeties into place. As long as we aren't dead we can help protect you from any psychic attacks or backlash until you've learned how to do it yourself. The Tardis also helped a bit." The Doctor admitted.

Martha crossed her arms in front of her before she gave them a stern look. "And what would happen if one of you died before I've learned?" She asked archly.

Jack just stared at the Time Lords in consternation. "It would send you into a coma at the very least. For how long, I don't know but you'd have to rebuild more than one neural pathway just to get back out of your own head. It happened to another Time Agent once, nasty. With some of my training I could help pull you out but it would be risky and if I slipped up it would kill both of us." Jack just looked at them and shook his head. "I'd consider trying to take you to a certified healer in a later century but it would be risky moving you between time periods and this century just doesn't have the tech, resources, or the contacts much less the personnel for any other options."

Martha held out her hand. "Hand them over."

"What? What are you talking about?" The Doctor asked in complete bafflement as the Master mirrored his confusion.

"Your screwdrivers. Hand them over. Misbehave and I take away your toys." Martha stated simply. "Hand them over, now." The two elder Time Lords looked at each other at a loss what to do as Jack just started smiling. It took a few moments for them to realize she was serious and they silently handed over the screwdrivers. They could always build another one.

"Perhaps you'd like to explain that, young lady?" Asked another older business man, this one wearing of all things a bright green polo shirt and striped slacks.

"Its very simple. They've been acting like children so I'm treating them like children but in this case its closer to taking away a little kids favorite blanket that they drag everywhere on top of holding a guys favorite shirt hostage. They never put these things down. Its unbelievable." She told them as she shook the screwdrivers at them just before she pocketed them. "You'll get them back later, once we've had a talk about all of this."

"That's nice." Said the gun wielding officer. "Now that we're done with family time would you please move away from Mr. Saxon? I still haven't decided if the three of you need to be taken care of as well."

"Now, now, Jeoffry, I'm certain that there's some sort of arrangement we can all agree on." The first business man soothed.

"Who says I'm Jeoffry?" The officer retorted. "He's dead, just as most of your men are dead Mr. Saxon, including the group of UNIT traitors that started helping you after they supposedly were taken to see the Doctor."

"Now you've done it." Martha said in exasperation. "We only just got him calmed down from the bomb someone slipped into the Tardis which went off. His pupils still haven't changed back and he almost went after my mum when she tried to chew him out over it."

"Martha, listening to your mom tear into someone would make anyone on the receiving end homicidal. I don't know how Clive put up with her for so long to get you, Tish, and Leo out of the deal." Jack chuckled.

"You are having far to much fun." The Doctor deadpanned before he broke out into a grin of his own, deciding to ignore the comment about the UNIT pack members for the moment and hope that the man was lying.

The now quite frustrated not-Jeoffry officer let off a shot into the floor at their feet. "Now that we all know I'm serious hows about you actually do what I tell you?" He asked in irritation.

"That was a mistake." The Doctor warned. "So was hurting the others."

"I'm not playing games, nor will I allow you to play games with me." He told them all flatly, just before he casually shot the man who had been trying to get behind him. "Stay in front. I wont warn you again."

"That wasn't necessary." The Doctor told him sadly.

"I believe that it was." Not-Jeoffry told him simply.

"You don't know dangerous until you've made the Doctor angry and faced him." The Master snorted. "If we wanted to play games with you then you'd already be on the board and never even know that the game was there much less in progress with you as the players. Martha might I see my screwdriver for a moment?"

"Why?" She asked suspiciously but handed it over.

The Master fiddled with the controls in a very particular pattern. "You'll have to be a bit more careful, the isomorphics are off." He commented as he once again passed her the screwdriver. She nodded cautiously as she accepted it back.

"What pray tell are isomorphics?" Not-Jeoffry asked.

"Oh nothing much, just a coolant system." Jack lied casually. "He doesn't like people messing with his stuff."

"And why pray tell would I care about what he wants or likes? After all I've got you all at gun point." He asked patiently.

"Might have something to do with the fact that only he or the Doctor would be able to make it work right now without it exploding." Jack told him mildly as he tried not to grin.

"Oh, you're good." The Doctor complemented Jack.

"I try." Jack offered a winning smile.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're playing games after I specifically warned you not to?" Not-Jeoffry asked as he changed his target from the Master to Martha. "Since its clear that you all care what happens to her, you will either behave or she dies. I am not a cruel man however so if I do shoot her she will die quickly, a shot to the head works nicely on any species."

This caused them to loose all appearance of humor over the situation. "Now that's really crossing the line." Jack told him softly with a cold glint in his eye. "Threatening our child just got you killed."

Until Martha smacked him and asked. "What is with all of you? I can take care of myself, thanks very much. Species change or not."

"Martha, we still don't know what you've essentially inherited and what you haven't." The Doctor said patiently.

"Yeah, I got that. Why do you think I've been sticking with what the Tardis has been telling me is safe for both humans and Time Lords?" She asked archly. "Honestly, you three are acting like I'm 5 or something."

* * *

 **A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	22. Line Crossed

**A/n:** A moment of silence for the death of the Hostess company... Xander I am sorry for your loss. Happy Holidays All!

* * *

**_Line Crossed_ **

"Enough! I wont ask again. Move away from Mr. Saxon." Not-Jeoffry ordered. "I'll not risk such a threat to our world running around free."

"Let me think... No." Jack told him before turning back to Martha. "We aren't treating you like you're 5, we're treating you like you're our responsibility"

"No, what you're doing is being utterly ridiculous." Martha argued back.

That's when they heard another shot from Not-Jeoffry's gun and she felt a wetness, then sting in her arm as her pack looked on in shock. Jack shot to her side and tried to help stop the bleeding, easing her to the floor, as both elder Time Lords, knowing that Jack would help Martha, turned on their assailant, eyes blazing. They both had slit pupils by the time they finished turning to face Not-Jeoffry but they maintained enough control to know that lunging for him would do no-one any good.

"You've just earned yourself a very painful death." The Master told him coldly, icy fury blazing in his eyes.

"There is no place and no time you can hide in, you've had your chance." The Doctor told him, voice flat with rage.

That's when they heard an ominous rumble from the Tardis... Hurt her pack's child would he? And right outside her doors? Threaten her pack? The Tardis started up her central column in the console room and revved her engines causing everyone to look at her in alarm. She sent the image of a Orange Tsunami that ate at human flesh like it was loosely packed sand, held back only by her doors into the minds of her pack as she shift around the rooms inside of her. The pool filled with the slightly acidic water from Marnus 3 should do. On a Time Lord it was a great exfoliant, on a human? Well there was a reason that the pool normally remained hidden deep inside her corridors. Wouldn't want one of the human companions to find it and get acid burns, now would we? She revved her engines higher in warning as her two elder Time Lords exchanged hasty glances before moving quickly to Martha and Jack.

"We have to move her, now!" The Doctor warned.

"The wound's deep and I've barely even gotten the blood to slow." Jack protested.

"The Tardis isn't giving us a choice, we have to get to one side of her doors if not behind her. Jack? Don't touch the water when it comes out." The Doctor warned.

"We'll need to refill that pool and why do you have water from, what planet was that? Makial 6?" The Master asked.

"Marnus 3. We were in the system, if you remember and it wasn't like anyone was using it." The Doctor retorted as he lifted Martha out of Jack's arms. 

She was fighting to stay conscious and not give into shock from the gun-shot wound. Martha moaned when he lifted her from the floor in a bridal carry. "Shh, shh, its alright, we're just moving you over a bit." He soothed as he shifted her closer to his chest in a protective fashion.

The Master on the other hand grabbed Jack roughly by the shoulder and just bodily dragged him to the side of the Tardis as she once again revved her engine and they could all hear the very distinct sound of a lock unlocking. The other humans tried to shift backward away from the Tardis and her apparent line of fire but were stopped by the warning look that Not-Jeoffry sent them which promised death.

"Something you don't know about Time Lords." The Master sneered. "You hurt one of our young and you haven't just killed yourself, you've killed everyone in the room." 

The Doctor set Martha into Jack's arms and with a cold look in his eye as he stood next to the Master, the Doctor held out his hand in front of him, poised to snap his fingers until he had the attention of everyone in the room. The Tardis had shown him something else, he could now open her doors with the snap of his fingers. They were bonded so closely now that he didn't need a key anymore. With a snap of his fingers the Tardis' door swung open and a wave of orange water that might as well have been acid flowed from her open doors as the Tardis used those very same doors to shield her pack. Even if the waters would likely only hurt Jack at the moment she didn't want to take any chances. Nor was she keen on them getting shot by a reflexive squeeze of Not-Jeoffry's finger when he got hit by the pain once it ate through his clothes. So when Not-Jeoffry's reflexive squeeze did happen a moment later there was a Tardis door between her pack and the bullet as it embedded itself into the wood of her door. The screams of the splashed humans and the death cry of the inundated Not-Jeoffry told her that her work was well done and she allowed her central console to glow a bit in pride at protecting her pilot and his pack, her pack. She carefully scanned and recorded the results as nearly all of the flesh melted away from the bones, leaving behind the soaked and bloody tattered apparel of those who had threatened her pack. It would make a good warning shot for anyone else who had such a foolish notion as to try and take away her pack in the future.

* * *

 **A/n:** Pissed Tardis much?

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	23. Retrieval

**A/n:** How ever will they retrieve the missing?

* * *

**_Retrieval_ **

The flood of orange took a moment or two to start slowing down before the pool finished emptying itself onto the floor of the room. The few humans who had barely been splashed or hadn't been splashed at all with the acid-like water were looking on in horror and occasionally pain. They watched the group warily, expecting another attack for the actions of someone they thought was one of their own, until he started shooting.

"Someone want to explain what just happened? And is it safe to take Martha to the infirmary yet?" Jack asked.

"Yes, yes it is. Just hang on a tick and I'll get a proper dressing for that wound. Master, we still need information from the ones who survived so don't kill them." The Doctor said just before he disappeared into the Tardis to get his version of the first aid kit.

The Master crouched down next to Jack and Martha. He gently retrieved his laser screwdriver from Martha's pocket and changed some of the settings. "This will hurt." He warned. "But that bullet needs to come out."

Martha managed to nod dazedly before the Master triggered his screwdriver, drawing a cry of pain from Martha as he opened the wound slightly and drew out the bullet. Martha's cry of pain brought the Doctor running with his spare screwdriver in one hand and the first aid kit in the other. He scowled at the Master when he saw what had caused Martha to cry out.

"You couldn't have waited?" He scolded, as he set down the kit and opened it before tending to Martha's now bullet free wound.

"Not really." The Master told him as he turned his back on his pack, facing the room and any possible danger that remained.

"If we aren't going into the Tardis we really should close her doors." Jack commented as he helped remove Martha's jacket and cut away the sleeve on her new shirt. The explosion earlier having forced all of them to get a change of clothes, even if the men just changed into an identical spare set of what they'd been wearing in the first place.

"You and Martha are going into the Tardis. The Master and I have a few things we need to discuss with these gentlemen." The Doctor told him grimly earning a snort from the Master as he finished dressing Martha's wound. 

Jack looked at the Time Lord and decided that he didn't want to know. He nodded and carried Martha into the Tardis as the Doctor shut her doors behind them. The Doctor's pupils were slowly changing back to normal but the cold look he'd had earlier still hadn't left him. The original speaker had survived with only a small droplet of the acidic water landing on his hand. He watched in dread as the two Time Lords casually approached where he and the others who had managed to avoid the waters now stood.

"Now we're going to ask a few questions and you are going to answer them." The Doctor told them grimly.

"If we don't like your answers or you don't give us enough information, well. Lets just say that after what that one just did," The Master indicated the remains of Not-Jeoffry as he spoke to them pleasantly. "I very much doubt that the Doctor would stop me from exacting my own pound of flesh despite the Tardis' rather through job. So I suggest you answer honestly and fully or this day may become even more painful for what is left of you." The remainder of the welcoming committee nodded quickly and vigorously in agreement. They did NOT want to find out what else these people were capable of.

"Now, what exactly did he mean when he said that the UNIT soldiers were dead?" Asked the Doctor. "And why couldn't you have just called us on the phone like a normal person?"

"Most of them are dead." The first businessman admitted.

"Most?" The Master asked, eyebrow raised, pupils returning to normal as his more feral nature receded.

"Three of them survived our containment procedures." The older business man explained almost deferentially. "You have made your positions quite clear on the proposal we would have made and I no longer see a reason for us to detain you or bother you with our petty concerns. Would you like for me to send for the UNIT members and your wife, sir? I can have them brought to you."

"The only reason we haven't left already is because I want a divorce and those UNIT members as you put it passed a very lethal examination making them in part our responsibility." The Master informed him coldly. "It would be wise of you to return them."

"Of course, sir." The elder man nodded and signaled to one of the uniformed officers who quickly left the room. "If you would like I can have your divorce expedited and any compensation that you choose will be provided for your inconvenience."

"Inconvenience? That's what you call the death of part of our pack?" The Doctor growled his eye's returning fully to slit pupils.

"Would you call it an inconvenience if someone killed one of your cousins? Or wiped out your security force?" The Master growled, managing to maintain his control as his eyes paused in their return transformation, half slits and half normal pupils. "Our adoptions are very through and even a partial adoption is equivalent to making someone at the very least a 2nd cousin among your people. Be glad that they weren't fully adopted into our pack or you would join that fool with the gun in death. It just might take a while for you to get there."

"Of, of course." He stuttered. "I didn't mean to suggest..."

"Well you did." The Doctor told him shortly, just as the officer returned with Lucy, Smith, Mic, and Fireball Mc'Cal in tow.

"Lucy, you and the men get in the Tardis. Doctor if you would?" The Master requested to which the Doctor nodded and snapped his fingers, opening the Tardis' doors for the foursome.

"If I _ever_ see you again, I doubt that I'll have enough mercy for a second time." The Doctor warned before he and the Master turned and strode back to the Tardis. The last thing the men in the room saw was the Tardis wheezing and fading away to nothing, as if she had never even been there...

* * *

 **A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	24. Break-ups and Security Protocols

**A/n:** The reason that Lucy isn't as well represented as she should be is that I just couldn't seem to write her, so I'm taking her completely out of the picture.

* * *

**_Break-ups and Security Protocols_ **

Back in the Tardis the console room was quiet as the two Time Lords worked in unison to fly them into the vortex and into a stable standby pattern. The Tardis was kind enough to make the extra effort for a smooth flight for her irritated pack. The new arrivals just looked on as the two worked and stayed to one side, out of the way. It wasn't long before they put the finishing touches on the flight and turned to their passengers. Which is exactly when Jack poked his head into the console room to see why they were flying the Tardis and not in the infirmary looking over Martha trying to mother hen her to death.

"I see we have passengers." Jack noted. "Doc I think you should take another look at Martha. Her wound isn't reacting right and I'm not sure if its the new biology or something weird with the bullets that guy used."

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute. In the mean time don't let her have any aspirin or the quartical hydroxide for that matter." The Doctor told him.

Jack just sort of looked at him. "Why would I want to give her quartical hydroxide? That stuff crystallizes the insides of most species, we don't need a half crystallized Martha. And are we keeping any of them?" He asked pointing at Lucy, Smith, Mic, and Mc'Cal. "Because if we are I've got dibs on the hot one." This last comment earned him a black look from both Time Lords.

"Unless you want a very painful lesson in fidelity, freak, I suggest you go check on Martha." The Master told him coldly, to which Jack just rolled his eyes and headed back to the infirmary.

The Doctor looked at him in disappointment. "That wasn't necessary." He told the Master.

The Master just looked at him. "I believe that it was. Now we need to deal with them before we fix up Martha and send her to bed then you, I and the freak are having a talk."

"But you said I could choose." The Doctor said hesitantly.

"Yes, but if you remember our laws to make the mating legal it either needs to be witnessed or you jump through all of those ridiculous legal and ceremonial loops. If its between three or more then we merely need to make a statement to the effect under oath in front of a certified authority as soon as possible, relative to our personal time lines." The Master growled out. "Now can we get on with it? Martha needs proper tending and we haven't had a chance to teach the freak about it yet."

"Harold? I don't understand." Lucy asked almost hesitantly. "What is going on?"

The Master looked at her. "Simple, our agreement is over and we're going to get divorced, as promised. You can keep everything aside from a few projects that I will tell some of my followers to destroy. Have a nice life." He told her simply.

"And us? Does our agreement about the Doctor's security still stand?" Mic asked.

"While on earth you will work our security. When we aren't on earth you will maintain a residence for us. The threat protocols that I've already outlined will apply to anyone you hire." The Master told them bluntly. "When we land, provided we land in the correct time frame, you will contact Patrica Cornwall of Undine Computer Protocols Inc. and tell her that the ghost is flawed but the original goal succeeded. She is to shut down her project and the kill code is ^Rassilon Rising^ complication Doctor 9 success mauve 82. Do I need to repeat myself?"

"No, sir." Smith told him respectfully. "Are we allowed to bring our families to live in the residence that we establish for you and the Doctor, sir?"

"Oh, no. You aren't making a home for me." The Doctor told them with a wide false grin that had just a touch of pain behind it. "My home is the Tardis here." He patted her console and she purred under his affection.

"Within reason, but they must understand that its our home first." The Master agreed, completely ignoring the Doctor's opinion of the situation. If he thought that it wasn't going to be their home whenever they visited earth in the right time frames for it to be there and maintained, he was sorely mistaken. Even if it did mean that the Tardis was likely to get parked in the living room during their visits.

"Do we keep it under one of our names or under yours and the Doctor's?" Mic asked.

"Harold Saxon and John Smith will suffice." The Master informed them amicably.

"You're giving me part ownership?" The Doctor asked in surprise.

"It is your usual alternate moniker." The Master replied almost idly.

"Harold? I'm not sure that I want that divorce anymore." Lucy admitted tentatively, earning a black look from her erstwhile husband.

"You don't get a choice in the matter my dear." The Master told her smoothly. "You can however tell Patrice when she comes to see you, despite my orders to the contrary, that I did indeed give the kill code. I plan to destroy the ring now that its no longer needed."

"Ring? What ring?" The Doctor asked, alert, almost as if he were a bloodhound who had just caught the scent of whatever he was tracking.

The Master just slid the ring off of his finger and tossed it to the other Time Lord. "It wasn't one of my better ideas but I'm fairly certain that it would have worked, after a fashion." The Master shrugged. "Its simple enough, I die and they use the imprimatur that I kept giving Lucy when I kissed her to trigger the revival ceremony sequence."

The Doctor stared at him as he turned the ring over and over in his hands. "You installed a base biomatrix along with an update of your physical form and a near constant stream of your memories being updated." The Doctor murmured, impressed. "No wonder you never took this off. Had they triggered this you would have essentially been re-born, a whole new set of regenerations but a complete set of memories. Though the integration would have been a bit odd and possibly unstable."

"Yes." He said curtly. "Now if you don't mind I believe that we are due at the Magistrate's office for my divorce and we still haven't put Martha to bed." 

The Doctor nodded before he pocketed the ring and they set about getting the divorce as well as their security settled into their new lives. It didn't take them long aside from the Doctor having to pull rank and call in a favor to get the divorce completed quickly, even with the simplification that just about everything would go to Lucy. After another talk between the Master, the Doctor, and Lucy it was agreed that if Patrice was willing to let Lucy join her cell of loyalists then the Master would allow it and she could stay in intermittent contact. 

By the time everyone and everything was settled and they were back in the vortx Jack was starting to get worried over Martha's reaction to the gun-shot wound. He might not know what a Time Lord's normal temperature range was but the way she was starting to sweat and moan in her sleep bothered him greatly. He did what he could before he decided to stalk into the console room just as they were locking the Tardis into a safe drifting pattern and grabbed the Doctor before bodily dragging him to the infirmary.

"Jack? Jack! What's wrong? I was just about to come see Martha and..." The Doctor started, before Jack cut him off.

"You're taking to long and I'm worried. Her temperature has gone up and she's moaning." Jack told them both as he continued to drag the Doctor, bodily, to the infirmary.

"Oh, its started then has it?" The Doctor asked keenly causing Jack to stop dead in his tracks.

"Explain. No, wait, explain when we get to the infirmary and you can do something for Martha." Jack started back toward the infirmary still towing the Doctor behind him, much to the Master's great amusement.

"It shouldn't be a problem. Every Gallifreyan goes through the crucible process upon receiving their first major injury." The Doctor started to explain then stopped dead, causing Jack to be jerked backward by his own hold on the Doctor, when he saw exactly how far gone Martha was. "You would have to be a difficult child. Master she's on an accelerated sequence."

"I can see that." The Master told him with some concern. "I had hoped that she wouldn't inherit that from me."

"What are you talking about? She inherited it from me." The Doctor told him causing them to meet eyes before realization struck and they both started scrambling about the infirmary.

"Cortical sequencing is at 119 cycles and rising." The Doctor called out, from one monitor.

"Damn! Her hormones have gone to the ^Grey Lady^ sequence." The Master cursed. "Where's your stock of trivultrite?"

"No time and not enough on board." The Doctor told him grimly as he swung a set of tubing over and around Martha. "Jack, I need you to hold her. Master, we need to try and trigger a reset."

"You think that the base human DNA is causing a conflict?" The Master asked warily as he came over and helped set up the tubing and accompanying pump system. "A reset might send her back into being human."

"Yeah, but if we don't reset and she needs one then she dies, just like a human would." The Doctor informed him as he grimly worked on modifying the old hydroplutonic re-sequencer for what they needed.

"We'll have to provide a substitute of some sort for the trivultrite, doesn't human adrenaline have a close enough similar reactionary sequencing?"

"Yes, but we'd have to have it fresh and no human would survive even a single bag of Time Lord blood inside of them. It would have to be a complete transfusion from one person to the other and the human would have to be awake, aware, and here, now."

"Um, someone forget me?" Jack asked cheekily.

"But..." The Doctor wavered.

"Doc, I'll come back. Can we say the same for Martha right now?" Jack soothed. "Just hook me up and we'll go from there."

A medical alarm went off drawing everyone's attention. "No nonononon..." The Doctor started to panic and clutched at his head in despair.

"Doctor? Doctor!" The Master snapped finally gaining the Doctor's attention. "Set it up for a live blood transfusion sequence. We no longer have a choice and we're out of time."

The Doctor nodded and hooked Jack into the machine, changing the settings from a medical drip to a live transfusion. They all watched anxiously as Martha slowly stabilized and surprisingly, Jack's body accepted Martha's blood without any of the usual indications of blood poisoning. Jack would be stuck in the infirmary, providing blood, for the next 3 hours as Martha passed through her own unique crucible process and her parents all worked to keep her stable and healthy through the process. It wasn't until 6 hours after Jack had dragged the two Time Lords into the infirmary that she was declared out of danger and having dropped into regular REM sleep from her earlier restless slumber. She would wake to find that all 3 men had fallen asleep in various positions around the infirmary, unwilling to leave her after the scare she had given them...

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 **A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


	25. Two Hearts

**A/n:** You can thank banditdoz on TTH for suggesting something that made my mind go... yes, we can modify it that way!

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~~~

**_Two Hearts_ **

Martha watched them fondly with just a touch of confusion as to why she even needed to be in the infirmary, gun-shot wound aside. She idly wondered why Jack was looking pale and mumbling in his sleep as he tried to roll himself off of one of the spare narrow med beds that he was sleeping on. She could see the Doctor and the Master had unconsciously cuddled on their chairs sitting next to one another. They were almost falling out of the chairs, it was clear that the slightest jolt or pressure would tumble them onto the floor. They looked so cute, almost as if they were kittens trying to cuddle together. She wished that she had a camera and that she dared to use it to take a picture for blackmail if for nothing else. The gentle laughter that Martha received from the Tardis over this idea made her smile. What made her outright grin however was the mental image of the Tardis having already taken a picture and stored it in her mainframe. The small giggle that Martha allowed herself was more then enough to wake the others.

The Doctor to suddenly snorted and fall very loudly out of his chair. "Wha? Ulf..." He said as he landed and accidentally kicked the Master's chair over backward with him in it as he flailed through his landing. The loud *CRASH* which accompanied the Master's rather painful landing was more than enough to startle Jack into wakefulness and cause him to roll right off of the bed.

"Ow." Jack said as he lay flat on the floor, not bothering to get up.

"Doctor, did you have to knock me over?" The Master growled grumpily.

"I'm sorry. Its not like I actually planned to wake up that way." The Doctor retorted as he helped the Master to his feet.

"I think I'm just gonna lay here. Don't mind me." Jack waved tiredly from the floor where he'd landed.

"Are you alright?" Martha asked trying not to giggle.

"We're fine." The Doctor told her. "But you, young lady, gave us quite the scare. You went into an accelerated crucible sequence at a rate we could barely stabilize. Normally it would never have even been possible for it to go that fast but both the Master and I had accelerated sequences and it compounded into and almost turbo version inside of you. I think its safe to say that you've inherited a few things from both of us."

"Alright then." Martha said agreeably, just before she asked. "Why's Jack still on the floor?"

"I'm tired and after all that blood we switched between me and you, I just want to sleep for a couple more hours." Jack admitted from his position on the floor.

The Doctor and the Master looked at one another. "Jack, you still have the same blood volume. You shouldn't be this tired." The Doctor told him in some concern.

"Doc, I'm tired, my chest hurts and nothing has happened to me aside from me playing blood donor. I'm fine. Though I wouldn't say no to a hand up back onto that bed." Jack told him frankly.

"You gave me blood!? I didn't realize..." Martha asked in shock, then she ordered. "Get up off that floor and have the Doctor or the Master check you. Those symptoms don't sound right. You might have had a problem with the transfusion, a clot even. That was beyond risky. What were you lot thinking?"

"We were thinking that we might loose you if we didn't try it." Jack told her sternly. "They even warned me that a pint of Time Lord blood inside of a human is usually lethal. I insisted since you needed the adrenaline straight from the source and we already know that I wont stay dead."

Martha glared at him as the Doctor helped him back into the bed. "You remember what I said about not dying or regenerating to fix something when there's an alternative?" She reminded them.

"Hang on a tick and I'll look at him again." The Doctor soothed as he started checking Jack over again.

"There wasn't another choice at the time." The Master explained. "It was either the live transfusion or something even more risky. You would have died without the option of coming back, regenerating. It wasn't just a matter of you not having been taught how to regenerate yet, you wouldn't have had the chance to even start."

"Now that's odd." The Doctor said with a peculiar look on his face.

"What?" Martha demanded.

"Jack's grown a second heart, that's why his chest was hurting, is hurting." The Doctor explained. "Its like his biology is a mix of human and Gallifreyan. I could have sworn that the blood wasn't doing anything to him 2 hours ago." He muttered.

"I take it that I'm stuck here until you've figured out what happened?" Jack chuckled wryly. "Its not like it will kill me or anything. At least not permanently."

The Master looked over the Doctor's shoulder at the display and tapped on part of it. "I've seen this before, it showed up in the autopsies of the humans that were accidentally given Time Lord blood. We're close enough to their species that the chameleon arch helps us transform back and forth, perhaps the blood transfusions were trying to make them Time Lord but they couldn't adapt to the changes quickly enough." He theorized.

"That makes sense, and Jack takes a bit more trauma to die on us than a normal human. Perhaps it was enough to allow the transformation to go forward just a bit more." The Doctor agreed.

"So, let me get this straight. My increased durability combined with my inability to stay dead allowed me to not only survive the transfusion but also let it start changing me?" Jack asked.

"Yup. That about sums it up." The Doctor agreed. "It looks like the transformation has finished. Congratulations, Jack, you're far closer to being a full Time Lord than you were before. One of the first humans to survive such a rapid evolution."

"Great." Jack said sarcastically. "Now can I get some sleep?"

"Martha's no longer in any danger. She needs to stay here another night but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't sleep in our bed." The Master told him agreeably as he picked him up out of the med bed.

"Now, wait a minute!" Jack protested.

"Jack? Don't bother. When he gets like this its better just to go along with it." The Doctor told him as he tried not to laugh at Jack's plight.

"I'm glad you understand that Doctor, because you're coming with us." The Master informed him which made his laughter disappear into resignation at the look on the Master's face.

"You're serious? *sigh* Alright. Martha if you need anything the Tardis can get it for you, you just need to ask." The Doctor explained before he followed the other two out the door and onward toward Jack's and the Master's new rooms. What he didn't know is that the Tardis had also combined his bedroom with theirs and so was stuck sleeping in a guest room, if he could find one, or with Jack and the Master anyway...

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~~~

**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? 


	26. New Rooms

**A/n:** I'm sort of wondering if I should post my planetary hostage series up on DeviantArt....

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~~~

**_New Rooms_ **

~~~

Martha watched in amusement and some small exasperation as they left the infirmary. She idly wondered how it would work out with only a small bed in the room for them to sleep on. The Tardis saw this thought and, with plenty of mental laughter, provided an image of the boys' new room. She even smugly showed Martha how she'd merged their original rooms to create it. Martha grinned at the shock they were in for and decided that being stuck in the infirmary alone for the night was a small price to pay for the amount of blackmail and teasing material that the Tardis had just provided her with.

 

Elsewhere in the Tardis....

They wandered down the Tardis' corridors looking for their bedrooms and were all a little puzzled to find themselves funneled into a single corridor with only one door in it at the very end. As they approached the door they could see the intricate workmanship that went into creating it and all of them marveled at the craftsmanship. Jack was still tired but he'd convinced the Master to let him walk the rest of the way, even if he hadn't managed to get him to let him stay in his own room, just before they entered the final corridor that the Tardis provided. Once they got close enough all three of them were shocked to find their names carved into the door and intertwined in Gallifreyan, Intergalactic, and 20th century English.

"What have you done old girl?" The Doctor murmured as he allowed his hands to run along the carvings of their names in awe.

"I think she's made it clear that she wants you to bond with us." Jack said quietly as he laid his hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Jack, you don't understand." The Doctor told him as he kept his eyes on the door and avoided meeting Jack's own eyes.

"Don't we Theta?" The Master asked softly. "Its time to stop running."

Reluctantly, the Doctor allowed both men to pull him into the bedroom with them. "It isn't that easy." He warned them, desperately.

"Didn't think that is was." Jack quipped.

"For now, nothing will happen." The Master soothed. "Jack's still recovering from his donation and we're all worried over what happened with Martha. Tonight, we'll just sleep."

"I don't think we have another room to go back to any way." Jack said in amusement when he actually saw the inside of their room.

The Doctor lost all reluctance to actually enter the room when he saw certain mementos that he kept in his bedroom had been moved into the joint room. He knew that the Tardis would never have moved them from his bedroom. The Doctor's shoulders slumped in resignation. This was his room now. His, Jack's, and the Master's and he didn't think that the Tardis would let him sleep in one of the guest rooms, not with her having moved his special and personal items to this one. He carefully put each memento away in a drawer which looked like it had an old fashioned lock and key hole in it and closed it. Susan's music player from their very first visit and say on earth. Leela's braided leather bracelet that she'd lost and he'd found again after she was gone. One of Romana's old scarf's. Rose's jacket that she had left behind on the railing of the Tardis just before the battle of Canary Warf. Each of them had a unique memory and person they represented and he cherished all of them. The Doctor knew that Jack had recognized Rose's coat, it had been one of her favorites, and was greatful that he kept silent as they watched him tenderly put them away. Just as he finished slipping them each into the drawer the Tardis left him the key, an old fashioned small brass one, so that he could lock the drawer if he wanted. He sent a wave of gratefulness toward his ship within the bond and received a sense of smugness and satisfaction. The Tardis knew her Time Lord pilot/thief would stay in the room. He'd accepted that it was his and that he'd be sharing with the other two men. Single giant bed and all.

The room itself had a giant four poster bed, easily big enough to accommodate all of them, even with Martha added into the mix, should the Time Lord pack instincts kick in and insist that they all sleep in the same den. The Tardis could just imagine the cute puppy pile that the four of them would create and decided that she wanted to see it and soon. Two of the walls were lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves which had to be the Doctor's influence. Where as the two large sturdy oak desks where clearly the Master's influence. The reading chairs were a mix of preferences, a big black leather wing backed chair for the Master, a big overstuffed blue chair for the Doctor, a tan-brown suede covered chair and a Tardis blue leather bean bag chair for Jack. They found that they had two closets, one of which was entirely Jack's fault and as a result filled with toys as well as other interesting odds and ends. The other held all of their clothes and such, each of them had one wall to themselves and the Doctor pouted a little at the fact that the Tardis clearly wasn't going to let him just keep using the giant wardrobe room for his everyday things. Then there was the work station. It was a special high end super-polymer table that completely lined an entire wall. The table was filled with various pieces of equipment and random bits of electronics that the Doctor had been working on at one point or another. There was also a nice large black false fur rug that peeked out from under the bed and extended into the central clear area of the room. It was so thick as to be almost twice as deep as pile carpet and made out of some sort of silky material.

"Shoes off." The Master ordered both of them before they could step onto the rug. "Don't bother about changing, well worry about it later. For now just toss your coats onto one of the chairs." Both of them reluctantly obeyed, slipping their shoes off at the edge of the rug and tossing their coats onto the Doctor's overstuffed chair, which was closest to them at the moment. As they wandered over toward the bed where the Master was waiting for them they both yawned tiredly, with Jack even cracking his jaw in the process.

The Master looked them over critically. "Your both exhausted, get into bed." He ordered.

"But!" The Doctor protested starting to worry despite his need for sleep.

"Come on. You said it yourself, we wont get anywhere arguing with him in this mood. Just hop in. Nothing will happen that you don't want to." Jack soothed, still yawning.

The Master took the matter into his own hands with an eye roll. He flipped down the covers then practically shoved both men onto the bed. He waited for them both to be fully on the bed and under the covers before joining them, slipping under and making certain that the Doctor was in the center so that if he wanted to escape the bed he'd have to climb over one or both of them.

"Good night." Jack mumbled.

"G'night." The Doctor returned with a yawn.

"Oh shut up and sleep." The Master told them as they drifted off into the embrace of the night and the Tardis dimed the lights to near black for their rest.

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~~~

**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? 


	27. Reasons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ** _Warning!_**   
>  The Master decides to tie up Jack and the Doctor while they finally have that talk, alone.  
> Snuggles (sort of) but no sex yet.

~~~

  
**_Reasons_**

~~~

The Master awoke before either Jack or the Doctor and just sat in his chair looking at them, sleeping cuddled together on the giant bed that the Tardis had provided. He'd discovered some intricate carving in the wood of the bed posts as well as the head and foot boards. Much of it was ornamentation but enough was in actual languages for him to decipher several interesting suggestions on how to keep control of one's mate or mates as the case maybe. He looked over his second and his current singular mate, brooding, for some time as they slept. Neither of them looked well and he knew that neither had slept well last night, though that might have still been a more restful sleep than normal for the two. 

The Master considered his options. Martha would be fine in the infirmary and he could always tell the Tardis to turn it into, what was that term that human females used? A girls night out? Even if she wouldn't be moving much. He figured that he would need to assert his dominance again, at least for Jack and the Doctor, soon. Martha was clearly an alpha and letting her stretch her dominance muscles was all well and good but he'd not had enough time to properly establish his dominance with Jack and the Doctor before she was being pulled into the midst of it.

Martha's earlier idea of an enforced stay had merit. Especially since he'd seen more then enough evidence over the months while he played Saxon to know that the Doctor was as appalling as ever at taking care of himself and Jack didn't seem much better. That would have to change, but first things first he queried the Tardis to see if she minded keeping track of Martha and keeping her occupied for perhaps a few days. He was a bit grumpy when she insisted on knowing what he was going to do with his mate and his second but he did manage to reassure her that he had no horrible or damaging plans for the two even if he was going to tie them up for a bit. He nearly groaned when he realized that she wasn't going to help him without a few more details. He supposed that he deserved that with how often over then centuries he'd gone after the Doctor and all he'd inflicted on his second. The Master had always known that he'd walked a fine line when dealing with the Doctor and the only reason that he didn't stop was that despite all of his transgressions, the Doctor had never meted out a full and complete punishment to him the way he did to some of the others who had crossed those same lines. As much as he crossed those lines himself, the Master had also always taken care to minimize much of what would have been excessive collateral damage as a courtesy. Besides he wanted to rule the pitiful weaklings and at least contain the Doctor, if not marry the man, not outright destroy either, well not usually.

Finally making a decision and gaining the agreement of the Tardis the Master rifled through the Doctor's coat and retrieved both of the Doctor's sonic screwdrivers, his primary, which he'd retrieved while Martha slept, and his backup, they, along with his own laser screwdriver, went into a drawer in the bedside table that he was happy to discover had been equipped with an isomorphic lock. He quickly programed it only to open to himself and also tossed in Jack's vortex manipulator and weapons. It wouldn't do to have either of them get their hands on such things before the Master was ready to let them have the items back. The Master remembered seeing silk ropes and padded cuffs in Jack's little closet addition, so he retrieved them, quietly and quickly testing them to make certain that they would not harm his two victims nor would they break under the strain they would soon be subjected to. He considered letting them wake up and then drugging them but dismissed it as unnecessary at the moment. Swiftly he attached a single padded cuff to an ankle on each of them and secured them each to the bed using a complex series of knots on each end attached to either cuff. The center of the rope had been slid through a set of elaborate carvings in the foot-board of the bed but it had otherwise been allowed freedom of movement. It would be amusing to watch them pulling at one another as they tried to get out of the restraints. This done, the Master went and retrieved a cup of tea and sat, watching them and drinking his tea, until they slowly awoke.

The Doctor was the first one to start waking up. Upon seeing how they were restrained he snorted slightly in both minor disgust at how easily he'd been restrained and in amusement that the Master would still do something like that even though he already had them well and truly bound to him. The Doctor's light tug then startled yank on the rope jerked on Jack's leg startling him into wakefulness. It didn't take the two long to discover how the Master had set up their restraints and the exact limits to how far the rope would let them go, singly or together.

"So, is that how it is?" The Doctor asked quietly, suddenly causing the Master to decide that he really didn't like this subdued quiet resignation from the Doctor.

"For now." He agreed. "We haven't had much time to ourselves and neither of you have been taking care of yourselves. Don't worry about Martha, the Tardis is taking care of her and they're turning it into some, I believe the term is girl time."

"You promised." The Doctor's vulnerable accusation made the Master glad that he'd decided against drugging them.

"I did." He agreed. "I've kept that promise and I will continue to keep it. You are my second and as far as I'm concerned my fiancee, just as Jack is now my mate."

"So, I take it we're still waiting a bit?" Jack asked wryly as he lifted up his leg to show off the cuff.

The Master sighed. "How much time and effort do you think it takes to not only form a pack but a working hierarchy? I know that the Doctor bows for few people no matter how the situation may appear. He has bowed for me before and he will again, just not before some of the damage I've inflicted over the centuries is resolved." The Master told them quietly. "You don't mess with Time Lord instincts. Which is why he didn't fight my claim when my control slipped. Both he and I have been trying to sort out the mess that our relationship has become for a very long time but we often need an equalizer, a balancer or we push one another into doing something regrettable. He's used you humans as traveling companions for centuries and as a leash on his actions, while I've always believed in the propaganda of Time Lord superiority. My belief in the superiority of the Time Lord race has been tempered over the years but I still have difficulty in seeing other races as equal to our own."

"So why now?" Jack asked curiously. "Why explain? Why say anything?"

"Because Jack, as often as I've tried destroying him I still don't want to loose him either." The Master told him keeping his eyes locked with those of the Doctor. "Doctor, I will say this once and once only, should you ever tell anyone I will deny it and ensure that you are punished for it. Am I understood?" At both the Doctor's and Jack's nods he told them one of his own secrets in the hope that it would help him keep them both. "Humans, at least, are not as inferior as I once thought, though they are still primitive and destructive, more so than they need to be in any century."

The looks of complete and utter shock gave him a warm feeling of satisfaction that he would trade only for a very few things in his long existence, none of which would he trade the Doctor for. Jack would be their balance, their equalizer, their third. The stage was set, now they need only decide how to move forward.

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~~~

**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? 


	28. Gift of the Tardis

**A/n:** Yes, I know its short. Enjoy!

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**_Gift of the Tardis_**

~~~

Just as the Master was sharing his secret with Jack and the Doctor, the Tardis was sharing one with Martha, sort of. Oh how she loved to keep her pack guessing.

"Alright then is it something solid?" Martha asked and received a sense of a giggled no.

"You know you're making this guessing thing really difficult." Martha mused. "Alright then lets go over what I've already got then. Its a gift of some kind to one of us or all of us and it isn't something solid. How about a liquid?"

Another giggle and again a sense of no.

"I don't see why you wont let me out of the bed until I've guessed." Martha said in exasperation, indicating the fact that her current bed now stood a good 10 feet off of the main floor on a platform with small ledges at each door along the walls out of the room. 

"Can't I at least go to the Lou?" For this latest question she received the image of a digital clock counting down from 10 min. and a bridge between her bed platform and the bathroom door/ledge appeared.

"Thanks." Martha said greatfully as she slipped out of bed and carefully made her way into the bathroom. She was out before the timer was up and wearily sliding back into bed.

"Alright, you've made your point. I shouldn't be up and about yet and you're trying to keep me occupied. *sigh* Can I have a hint?" Martha asked and received a warm sense of gold flavored of tangy electric biting sense that atron energy gives off. 

"Ooookay. Is it something that is normally from earth?" Martha asked and got a sense of amusement and no but you're starting to get the idea now.

"Well, that's something at least." Martha muttered. The Tardis took pity and left a medical book on regeneration on Martha's bed as a giant hint. Idly, still working on the puzzle, Martha glanced over the book and her eyes widened in shock when she realized what it was about.

"Its got something to do with regeneration?" Martha asked in surprise. The Tardis giggled a yes and prodded for more questions.

"Did you do something to our regenerations?" Martha asked and received a picture of Jack, the Doctor, and the Master standing side by side glowing gold.

"Not me? Just them?" Martha asked. The Tardis confirmed her interpretation and mentally poked her again for another question.

Martha was almost afraid to ask but... "What exactly did you do to their regenerations?"

The Tardis giggled again and showed first how Jack used to be painfully jerked back into life. Then she showed how he now healed as if he were closer to actually regenerating as a Time Lord would. The Doctor and the Master were show together in the first sequence with the normal process of regeneration taking place but in the second sequence there were two possibilities overlaid on each Time Lord. One of them allowed them to fully heal as if they had just regenerated but didn't cause the personality and body change while the other option was what had been up until now a normal regeneration sequence. The Tardis gave Martha the impression that the two elder Time Lords now had a chance to choose between just fully healing and actually regenerating. This revelation was accompanied by a sense of smug satisfaction on the Tardis' part which she didn't bother to hide. Leaving Martha sitting on her bed in wide eyed shock as the Tardis returned the room to a more normal configuration.

"Do they know about this?" Martha asked.

When she received the sense of a sheepish no, she said. "Oh dear. Think you can get them to come to me? I don't think I can make it to where ever they are."

The Tardis gave off a sense of assent and started trying to get the attention of her Time Lords without actually interrupting anything...

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**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? 


	29. Mated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor finally completes the bond.

**A/n:** Yes, I know I've been away for a bit but now this is posted on a few more sites.

 **Warning!** This chapter has smut!!!

If you see this: [49 %%%%%%%%%% 49]  
its the beginning of the sex scene for those of you who want to skip it!!! The same symbol set ends it. The warning is in place because I've got this posted on multiple sites and not all of my readers want to pay attention to the sex scene. Anything important that happens during the sex scene will be recaped later in conversation so feel free to skip it!

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**_Mated_**

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The Tardis had seen the Master share one of his secrets with the Doctor and Jack and she realized that now would be a bad time to interrupt even for something so important as the alterations she had made to their regeneration sequence. As a result she was a bit stuck. How was she going to tell Martha that they couldn't interrupt the three but still get her to tell them? Tricky. Then the Tardis had an idea. She laid out an envelope and some parchment out on the bedside table along with a pen, then she materialized a wooden "Do Not Disturb" door sign a few inches above the table. She let it fall on top of the parchment and envelope to get Martha's attention. This caused Martha to turn around sharply at the noise and zero in on what made it.

"I should write a letter? Why? Oh. They're busy, right?" Martha asked realizing what the sign probably represented and making a face. "Yeah, I don't want to interrupt them when they're doing something like that, and they deserve a little happiness." She set about explaining in a letter exactly what the Tardis had done, allowing the men to continue their conversation undisturbed...

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"You actually admited that we aren't all that bad?" Jack asked the Master in complete shock.

"Yes, I did." The Master said irritably. "Now, if you ever want out of those restraints you'll be quiet and listen."

Jack immediately mimed zipping his lips closed and then locking them shut. Now that the Master was actually giving out complements he wasn't going to do anything that might stop him, or break his good mood.

"So, then what do you plan on doing with us?" The Doctor asked almost cheerfully, waving his manacled ankle for emphasis.

The Master looked at him then a broad smile spread across his face, just before he replied. "Whatever I want, my dear Doctor. Whatever I want." 

He took another sip from his tea as he watched the effects of his words on his two captives. The Doctor's apprehensive shiver was just delightful to watch and savor, while Jack's waryness was a bit disconcerting but he hadn't been part of their little game for very long. It was understandable that Jack wouldn't understand their little chess game quite yet. He would have to learn quickly if he wanted to arrange his own special play times rather than being granted them at either the Doctor's or the Master's whim. It would be amusing to watch him struggle to get a handle on the true situation but if he didn't catch on quickly enough then he would have to be taken in hand and trained rather than allowed to learn on his own. The Master took another sip of his tea and surveyed both men.

"About Martha..." Jack began.

"What about her?" The Master asked idly, eyeing the two still on the bed.

"Well, you did say that she might marry one of us. I don't think that's such a good idea, especially since we're kinda attached to each other. I mean she's cute and all but I've already started to see her as a little sister or something." Jack admitted sheepishly.

Both Time Lords looked at the immortal in amusement. "Jack, he was only pointing it out the possibility. Neither of us see Martha like that. She might have eventually become someone we might have been interested in but its much more likely that we would have argued again and she would have been caught in the middle." The Doctor explained. "No, Martha wont be marrying anyone in the room any time soon, not without some very strange and very remote circumstances playing out."

Jack looked relieved. "Thanks. I'm glad that we've got that straightened out." He admitted.

[49 %%%%%%%%%% 49]

"Strip." The Master suddenly ordered, startling the two attached to the bed.

"You'll have to remove the leg-irons, or is that leg-iron? If you want us to strip properly." The Doctor said dryly, earning a glower from the Master.

"Unless you want them shreded, you'll do your best to strip." The Master warned. "I'm not in as forgiving a mood as you might think."

This caused the Doctor to look at him sharply, nod and start to strip, giving Jack a nudge to get him started as well. It didn't take them long to strip what they could but both their trousers and their pants were caught on the rope tying them to the bed. All they could do was shove them as far along the rope as possible without jerking on each other to much.

"I gotta say, I'm not adverse to a little bondage but this is going to be a problem." Jack said as he got jerked by the Doctor yet again and instinctively jerked back setting off a mini tug of war between the two of them. This amused the Master to no end, as he sank back into his chair and just watched them struggle with each other and their instincts to try and force themselves free.

"Stop it Jack. We aren't getting any where." The Doctor ordered in frustration.

"You're amusing me." The Master pointed out.

"Now why would we want to do that?" Jack asked him cheekily as they managed to stop jerking each other back and forth.

"Oh, you shouldn't have said that." The Doctor warned, as the Master's features darkened and he rose to stride over to them.

The Master grabed Jack by the hair and jerked his head back and bit him on the claim mark again, all before Jack had a chance to react to the Doctor's warning. As soon as the Master bit down, Jack gasped in shock and pleasure. The claim process having turned the mark into an extremely sensitive area.

The Master let go with his teeth and hissed. "You are mine. The Doctor is mine. I will remind you of this as often as I need to and as often as I wish." With that warning ringing in Jack's ears he released the dazed immortal's hair and looked up to see that the Doctor was watching their little scene with interest. "Do I need to re-enforce my position as Alpha with you as well?" he asked gruffly.

"I don't know, do you?" The Doctor asked cheekily, earning a slow stalk around the bed from the Master and a similar re-claiming.

Jack had come back to himself enough to have gotten the lube out of his pile of clothes that he always carried while the Master had re-claimed the Doctor. The Master was still dressed and he planned to stay that way for the moment.

Seeing the lube in Jack's hand he nodded toward it. "I suggest you prepare yourselves well because I wont be gentle." He told them, with that he lightly shoved the Doctor backward into Jack and waved at them to get on with it. 

They took the hint and Jack started to prepare the Doctor. Slipping first one slick finger into the Doctor's tight hole and then a second when he had become loose enough. The Doctor was moaning and whimpering, trying very hard to hold still as Jack prepared him and the Master stood back, watching avidly, knowing and loving the fact that they were both his to do with as he pleased. When he saw that Jack was getting read to slick himself up though he growled. Causing Jack to look up in startlement and the Doctor to moan, trying to focus on him. He had been enjoying Jack's ministrations a little too much and involuntarily jerking on the rope that tied the two of them together to the bed.

"You bottom. Not the Doctor." The Master growled out, as the Doctor calmed down a bit. Jack nodded and quickly prepared himself before placing the lube in the Master's outstreched hand. "Doctor you may enter Jack but don't come and don't move." He hissed.

The Doctor had come back to himself quickly enough and nodded. He gently entered Jack's well prepared arse until he was seated fully to the hilt and the two of them were both breathing hard and trying not to move. The shock moments later of findind the Master suddenly driving himself into the Doctor to the hilt, still clothed, caused them both to cry out.

The Master placed one hand on the Doctor's temple and one on Jack's before hissing out. "Contact!" The three of them fell together into a telepathic bond, the Master dragged the incomplete mate bond into the temporary bond and with Jack showed it to the Doctor. The Doctor for his part saw the incomplete bond and realized that they really did want him as their mate. He shyly but greatfully with their help wound himself into the bond completing it. In the fraction of a heartbeat that all of this had occurred they saw one another to the depths of their souls and were at peace with each other. Then they started to move pounding into each other. The Master toping both the Doctor and Jack simultaneously as they claimed each other as mates. Their combined climax sealing and consumating the bond in a blaze of golden fire, sending shock wave through the pack bond. They collapsed exhausted onto the bed, never noticing the note that the Tardis discreately left on the bedside table moments later...

[49 %%%%%%%%%% 49]

It wasn't long before the three stired and the Master released them from being confined to the bed. Allowing everyone to stretch, get washed, and a change of clothes from their respective closets. Ironically it was Jack who found Martha's note and was the first one to read it. He had been looking for his vortex manipulator and his revolver when he stumbled across it addressed to all three of them. To say he was a bit put out about what he learned in the letter would be an understatement.

"Doctor! Master!" Jack called out, eyes not leaving the letter.

"What is it Jack?" The Doctor asked as the two Time Lords came up behind their mate.

Jack turned and handed him the letter. "Apparently the Tardis has been messing with my ability to come back to life and both of your regeneration sequences." Jack told them bluntly. The two looked at him and then quickly read the letter from Martha explaining exactly what the Tardis had shown her and how it had been interperated.

"That's a new one." The Master commented in slight surprise.

"Yes." The Doctor murmured. "From the look of it the old girl wasn't satisfied with just being able to hang onto us for eternity."

The Master snorted. "After what happened with the imprimatur chamber are you really surprised?"

The Doctor sighed. "No, I suppose not. Well we'd better go check on Martha and tell her that the three of us are finally married. We'll have to find somewhere and somewhen to register it though and do something about getting all of the paperwork sorted so that Martha's adopted or we might have problems in some galaxies."

"Its a start at least." The Master agreed.

"Before anything else why don't we get some breakfast? I bet Martha wouldn't mind some pancakes." Jack suggested.

With that suggestion the three of them headed off into their new lives together as a proper family and into a new adventure....

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**A/n:** Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

There will likely be more to this series, ficlets and possibly the additional story or two.


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